Edo 2024: Appeal Court Affirms Ighodalo’s Candidature

• Dismisses Esene’s suit for lack of merit

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed Asue Ighodalo as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the September 21, 2024 Edo State governorship election.

Consequently, the Court struck out the appeal filed by Party’s governorship aspirants in the State, Arthur Esene and Anselm Ojezua, seeking to disqualify Ighodalo as the PDP flag bearer.

In their appeal, Esene and Ojezua had prayed the Court of Appeal to set aside the April 17, 2024 judgment by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja which dismissed their suit for being statute barred.

Delivering his judgement, Justice Omotosho, had held that not only did the petitioners fail to prove their claims that Ighodalo forged his voter’s card, but non-possession of the voter’s card did not constitute a disqualifying factor under the Constitution and the Electoral Act to deny a candidate from contesting an election.

The appellate court, while affirming the judgment by Justice Omotosho, held that the suit filed before the Federal High Court by Ojezua and four others was filed out of time and statute barred.

In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Hamma Barka, the Appeal Court also agreed with the decision of the Federal High Court that, not only did Ojezua and others fail to establish their claims that Ighodalo forged his voter’s card, but their suit was bereft of any merit because it was based on a flawed assumption that non-possession of a voter’s card constitutes a ground to disqualify a candidate from contesting election.

Additionally, the appellate Court noted that the appellants failed to appeal the findings of the trial court that Ighodalo applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the transfer of his registration from Lagos State to Edo State and that INEC issued a voter’s card to Ighodalo.

In striking out the appeal for lack of merit, Justice Barka awarded a cost of N3 million against the appellants and in favour of Ighodalo, PDP and INEC.