‘Waste Of Time’ – Court Strikes Out Suits Seeking Ighodalo’s Removal As PDP Edo Guber Candidate

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has struck out two separate suits seeking the removal of the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asue Ighodalo in the Edo State gubernatorial poll.

The Edo Polls would be held later in the year and Ighodalo was elected as the party’s candidate a few weeks ago during the PDP primary.

In a separate primary that the PDP, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the police rejected and declared as illegal, the impeached deputy governor, Philip Shaibu was declared the winner and had unsuccessfully sought to be affirmed as the candidate of the party.

Two of Shaibu’s loyalists subsequently approached the court presided over by Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to nullify the primary that produced Ighodalo.

But on Tuesday, court held that the suits lacked locus standi and amounted to a “waste of time.”

According to the presiding justice, the plaintiffs failed to exhibit sufficient, direct, and tangible personal interest that could enable or force the court to nullify the primary election.

The suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/195/2024, was filed by Adizetu Umoru, while the second suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/196/2024, was filed by Moses Alabi and Christopher Oboarer respectively all from Shaibu’s camp, the court held.

Sued in the suit were the INEC, PDP, Umar Damagu (acting national chairman, PDP), Setonji Koshoedo, PDP’s National Working Committee, (NWC) and its National Executive Committee (NEC) as 1st to 6th defendants respectively.

The plaintiffs sought in their separate motions filed on February 19, an interim order of the court to restrain the defendants from using the list of ward congresses held on February 4 to conduct the PDP’s primary in Edo State, slated for February 22 or any other date pending the hearing and determination of the main suit.

But Justice Ekwo however held that the plaintiffs did not establish any ground or reason as to how their individual interests were affected or jeopardised by the primary election and its outcome which produced Ighodalo.

He further held that the plaintiffs failed to establish whether they were eligible to participate in the election but prevented or whether wrongdoings were displayed during the election.

Consequently, he struck out the suits for lack of merit.

Shaibu whose name from the parallel primary he conducted was not published by INEC is in court challenging his removal from office.