The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, led by Justice A. M. Lamido, has upheld the nomination of Asue Ighodalo as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for Edo State.
In a unanimous judgment delivered in the case marked CA/ABJ/CV/642/2024, the appellate court dismissed an appeal brought by former deputy governor Philip Shaibu. Shaibu had challenged the May 27th ruling by Justice James Omotosho of the Abuja Federal High Court, which had declared Ighodalo as the duly nominated PDP candidate.
Justice Lamido stated that the trial court’s decision was correct and could not be faulted, noting that Shaibu had failed to meet the necessary conditions before filing his suit, rendering it premature.
The appellate court also confirmed that Shaibu did not provide sufficient evidence to support his claims of vote allocation against Ighodalo. The court emphasized that the conduct of the election and its results are presumed to be regular unless proven otherwise.
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The appellate court further ruled that Shaibu’s affidavit lacked evidence to substantiate the alleged vote allocation to the fourth respondent. Consequently, the court dismissed Shaibu’s case and imposed a cost of N1 million against him in favor of the respondents.
This ruling solidifies Asue Ighodalo’s position as the PDP’s official candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Edo State.
