Under section 84 (14) of the Electoral Act, only aspirants that can challenge a primary election and not ad hoc delegates.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has declared Asue Ighodalo as the authentic governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State.
In a unanimous judgement delivered on Monday, August 26, 2024, by Justice Musali JCA, that the delegates who sought to nullify the PDP primaries lacked locus, adding that the trial court had no jurisdiction to nullify the PDP primaries.
The Appellate Court, still on the suit marked CA/ABJ/CV/764/2024, further held that under section 84 (14) of the Electoral Act, only aspirants that can challenge a primary election and not ad hoc delegates.
He, therefore, declared that since the adhoc delegates are not aspirants, they do not have the locus to sue as the matter is an internal affairs of PDP.
“They are delegates and not aspirants. Delegates do not have any locus to challenge the process of the primary election,” the court held.
The Appellant Court consequently upheld the February 22 primaries of the PDP in Edo State, which produced Dr. Asue Ighodalo as governorship candidate of the PDP in the forthcoming September 21st governorship election in Edo State.