The Federal High Court’s ruling, which nullified the Peoples Democratic Party’s primary election held on February 22, 2024, has been characterized by the party’s Edo State Governorship Campaign Council as a temporary setback.
The PDP primary poll that resulted in Asue Ighodalo being selected as its governorship candidate was declared unlawful on Thursday by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
This decision was made by Justice Ekwo in a lawsuit (FHC/ABJ/CS/165/2024) that was brought by unhappy delegates, among them are, Kelvin Mohammed. The judge declared the primaries invalid because 378 delegates who were eligible to vote were forcibly excluded, in contravention of the law.
Ighodalo’s primary election as the party’s candidate for the Edo State governorship was not nullified by the court, as stated in response by PDP National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba and Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade, SAN.
They made it clear that the plaintiffs’ requested remedies did not involve invalidating or disqualifying Ighodalo’s primary election win.
In response, Adamawa State Governor and chairman of the PDP Edo State Governorship Campaign Council, Ahmadu Fintiri, called the procedure “child’s play” and claimed it wouldn’t stand up in an appeals court.
He promised that they will step up their campaigning, taking on extra tasks that weren’t originally scheduled. He promised that they would prove their mettle in this field and surpass their critics.
“Yes, there is a little setback, temporarily. God will see us through it. I am referring to the three days ago Court Judgment. Anybody, who peruse and look through the entire process will know that it is a child’s play.
“This will not stand in the court of law. Particularly we will be approaching the Court of Appeals, and that shouldn’t deter us, we will put in more commitments, and more work that we have not intended to do earlier. So that we would put our distractors into shame, and this is what we know how to do best,” Fintiri said.
In addition, he acknowledged the difficulty of their task and said that in order to complete it properly, they would need to rely on the advice and understanding of senior party stakeholders.
“We already know that this assignment is not an easy one. It is taxing and it demands a lot of commitment and seriousness on our part, our candidate has a lot of credibility with him, he is deliverable, we can make him win if we’re serious, the governor has worked, he’s visibly on the ground in Edo, his track record and pedigree, is also enough for us to harvest and use positively to win the election for PDP in this election.
“Like I said this is not an easy assignment, it requires a lot of sacrifice and commitment on our part, and for us to have accepted this appointment, I know also that we are ready, we have really agreed to do what is required of us to win the election. We are all politicians and the only thing we understand in politics is to win an election. We are out to win,” he said.
The PDP National Legal Adviser acknowledged in his statements that the party experienced difficulties in Edo state, but he also emphasized that the party’s primary election was not declared void by the court.
“I know many people were taken aback when the news broke that our primary election has been nullified and that our candidate has been disqualified. Yesterday I was on television to put the record straight and the CTC that came out has vindicated me on what I said on Television.
“In Edo state, we have a lot of challenges, we have 8 cases that we are battling with and certainly we know that where you have a party that is popular the struggle for the ticket will be fierce. Out of the 8 cases we are done with 7. The one of the day before yesterday was the 7th. We still have one pending before the court and by God’s grace it will go the same way the other cases have gone.” Ajibade said.
Ajibade who maintained that the party’s candidate, Ighodalo, is steadfast, confirmed that they will appeal the judgment to the highest court.
“To put the record straight, I know that some of you might not have the time to look at the CTC, but the court did not nullify our primary. The issue before the court was basically the issue of delegates in the election. The apex Court has pronounced that the issue of delegates is purely an internal party affair.
“To cure the issue that we normally have in the party whereby anybody can be sponsored to go and challenge primary, to go and disqualify other candidates that was why the National Assembly introduced section 84 (14) many of us can go and take a look at that. It says it is only an aspirant who participated in a primary election that can challenge such an election.
“But like I said, in the wisdom of the judge, he saw that from a different angle. But by the time we get to the appeal court, we will put our record in proper perspective.
“This is not the first time we have had this, during the last election we had a similar issue that moved from the Federal High Court to the Supreme Court. Members of the campaign council do not be discouraged by what you hear. You can pick up the CTC and read and know that our candidate is unshakable,” he continued.
Regarding the PDP’s candidate for governor, Ighodalo, he stated that they were determined to put in their best effort despite acknowledging that the race will be difficult.
‘It is not going to be easy. It is going to be very difficult. We are already seeing the signs. It is going to be a difficult election; not on the issues, but on the distractions. But sometimes these distractions are more difficult to deal with than issues.
“But I know we have leaders who are more than capable to set the ball rolling and to lift us higher than some others. So, I am truly grateful. On behalf, of my deputy and myself, what I want to say is this- we will give this everything we have. We will give it our 150 per cent commitment. We will ensure that we will make this our party extremely proud to have presented us as their candidates.”
