September 20, (THEWILL) – The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, dismissed a suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), seeking to disqualify Asue Ighodalo, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Saturday, September 21 governorship election in Edo State.
The APC had approached the court to contest the primary election of the PDP that produced Ighodalo as a candidate for the Edo Governorship Election.
This follows an earlier ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja, by Justice Inyang Ekwo, which held on July 4, that PDP was wrong in excluding 378 delegates from its February 22 primary election that produced Ighodalo.
Although Justice Ekwo did not categorically declare the primary election invalid, the APC cashing in on Ekwo’s finding, filed a fresh suit to disqualify Ighodalo on the strength of the alleged unlawful exclusion.
The APC sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ighodalo and the PDP as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively.
Ruling on Friday, Justice Peter Lifu, who berated the APC for dabbing into the internal affairs of the PDP, described the party as a busybody and meddlesome interloper.
The court upheld the submission of Ighodalo’s lawyer, Chief Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, that the suit was frivolous, baseless and unwarranted.
The senior lawyer had argued that the Federal High Court cannot sit as an appellate court in its own judgement.
Besides, Justice Lifu also upheld the argument of Kehinde SAN that the high court judgement being used to press for Ighodalo’s disqualification had since been voided and set aside by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
The Judge subsequently dismissed the APC’s disqualification request on the ground that it lacked merit and substance.
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