Edo PDP Primaries: Court Dismisses Shuaibu’s Suit Against Ighodalo

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by the impeached deputy governor of Edo State, Phillip Shuaibu, seeking the nullification of the February 22 governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Asue Ighodalo won the party’s primary.

In a judgment delivered yesterday, Justice James Omotosho held that Shuaibu lacked the locus standi to have challenged the outcome of primary because he did not fully participate in it and was not present at the venue of the primary the day it was held.

The judgment was on a suit in which Shuaibu had sought the conduct of a fresh primary.

Justice Omotosho held that although it was not in doubt that Shuaibu was a governorship aspirant who purchased the Expression of Interest and the Nomination forms, there was no evidence that he participated in the actual primary.

The judge also held that Shuaibu failed to effectively counter the claim by the defendants that he only participated in a parallel primary held in his house.

He averred that where a person bought the Expression of Interest and Nomination forms, got screened and cleared but failed to physically participate in the primary, he/she has lost the right to challenge the outcome of the primary.

Justice Omotosho also held that Shuaibu’s suit was premature because he failed to exhaust the internal dispute resolution mechanism of his party before heading to the court.

The judge held that as a member of the PDP, Shuaibu was bound by the rules and regulations of the party, which require an aggrieved aspirant in a primary to first approach the party’s Appeal Committee before filing a suit in the court.

He held that having failed to exhaust the internal dispute resolution mechanism put in place by his party, the suit he filed was premature and the court could not exercise jurisdiction to hear it.

Justice Omotosho found that Shuaibu failed to lead credible evidence to support his claim that the primary was manipulated and the 393 delegates were disenfranchised.

The judge held that the plaintiff’s allegation of irregularities in the conduct of the primary was not supported by any credible evidence.

He also held that there was sufficient evidence to show that Ighodalo actually won the primary.

In a separate rulings in another suit that Shuaibu filed, Justice Omotosho granted him leave to amend his originating process from originating summons to writ of summons in view of that fact that contentious issues were raised in the suit to warrant the calling of oral evidence.

Shuaibu is, by the second suit, challenging his impeachment as Edo State deputy governor.