Edo PDP Heads 'South', as Shaibu, Ojezua, Others Drags Ighodalo, PDP, INEC to Court over Primary

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By Reporter

In what looks like a photo finish in the internal crisis bedeviling the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Edo State, the party’s chances at the September 21, governorship election.

Days after the party’s one-sided governorship primary that produced two parallel candidates – Comrade Philip Shaibu, the state Deputy Governor and Mr. Asue Igghodalo, Mr. Anselm Ojezua and two others on Friday approached the Federal High Court, Abuja to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, PDP National Working Committee of the party from recognizing Dr. Asue Ighodalo as the party candidate.

Comrade Shaibu had earlier gone to court challenging the congresses that led to the now vexed primary election that produced Ighodalo.

The case marked No: THC/ABJCS/304Q, listed Anslem Ojezua as (Plaintiff) and Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission as Defendants.

The originating summons were brought pursuant to sections 84(13) B(1) and (ii) of the Electoral Act, 2022(As Amended); Independent National Electoral Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of political parties primaries; Article 50(3) of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party (As Amended in 2017); Article 8(M) of the Peoples Democratic Party Guidelines for Governorship Primary Election; Order 3 Rules 6 and 9, Order 56 Rule 1 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019, Sections 12 and 13 (1) of the Federal High Courts Act, CAP F12, Volume 6, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and the Inherent Powers of the Honourable Court as recognized and preserved under Section 6(6)(A)&(B) 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended).

The plaintiff, Ojezua, is a former Chairman of the then ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State who decamped to the PDP alongside Governor Godwin Obaseki during the Edo 2020 governorship election.

He is one of the aggrieved nine aspirants challenging the processes leading to the PDP Ad-hoc Congresses, Primary Election and nomination of Ighodalo as the party’s candidate.