Appeal Court Rejects Shaibu’s Attempt to Nullify Ighodalo’s Candidacy for Edo Governorship Election

By Milcah Tanimu

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by Philip Shaibu, the embattled Deputy Governor of Edo State, challenging the primary election that selected Asue Ighodalo as the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate for the upcoming governorship election.

On Monday, a three-man panel of justices led by Justice A. M. Lamido unanimously ruled that Shaibu lacked the legal standing to seek nullification of the primary election. The court upheld the May 27 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had refused to invalidate the PDP’s governorship primary election in Edo State.

The appellate court also imposed a cost of ₦1 million against Shaibu in favor of the respondents.

Previously, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court ruled that Shaibu did not participate in the primary election and therefore lacked the locus standi to challenge its outcome. The court noted that Shaibu took part in a parallel primary election conducted in his residence by a faction of the party and failed to exhaust the internal dispute resolution mechanisms of the PDP before approaching the court.

Shaibu had petitioned the court to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or recognizing Ighodalo as the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate, arguing that the primary election was not conducted in compliance with the Electoral Act and the party’s constitution.