Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit that sought to prevent Barrister Asue Ighodalo from being the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the upcoming Edo State election.
The case, brought by aggrieved PDP governorship aspirant Anselm Ojeizu, was deemed premature when filed on March 6.
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Justice Egwuatu ruled on Wednesday that Ojeizu had not exhausted the mandatory internal dispute resolution mechanisms of the PDP before approaching the court.
Ojeizu had sought an order to cancel the February 22 primary election that declared Ighodalo as the PDP candidate, claiming violations of the Electoral Act 2022 and PDP guidelines.
He alleged that a fraudulent delegates list was used in the primary held at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City.
However, Justice Egwuatu agreed with Ighodalo’s counsel, Mr. Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), that Ojeizu’s failure to engage the PDP Appeal Panel before filing the lawsuit was a breach of party rules.
The judge emphasized that compliance with internal mechanisms is mandatory, as upheld by the Supreme Court in similar cases.
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“In a matter of this nature, conditions precedents must be respected and complied with by any aspirant as had severally enunciated by the Supreme Court in all its decisions,” Justice Egwuatu stated.
