Full Text Of Court Judgment That Faulted Edo PDP Governorship Primary

A Federal High Court in Abuja has criticized the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the exclusion of 381 delegates from participating in its governorship primary election in Edo State, which took place on February 22, 2024.

The lawsuit was initiated by Kelvin Mohammed, Gabriel Okoduwa, and Ederaho Osagie, who represented themselves and 378 other delegates from 12 Local Government Areas and 127 wards.

The plaintiffs challenged their exclusion from the primary, seeking a court order to prevent the PDP from unlawfully excluding them and other duly elected delegates from serving as ad hoc ward delegates.

In the judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, it was determined that the PDP failed to adhere to its constitution and the electoral guidelines established for the February 22 primary elections.

“There is no doubt that the second defendant (the PDP) neither complied with the relevant provision of its constitution nor the electoral guidelines for primary elections of 22nd February 2024,” stated Justice Ekwo.

While the court sided with the plaintiffs by granting the reliefs they sought, it did not issue a consequential order to nullify the primary election results.

This decision has left the validity of the primary technically intact, despite the identified procedural breaches.

Following the court ruling, the PDP has maintained that the judgment does not affect the validity of the primary election, which resulted in Asue Ighodalo being named the party’s flagbearer for the gubernatorial election scheduled for September 2024.

Download full judgment here.