The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja on Monday, set aside a judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court that ordered the Peoples Democratic Party to allow the participation of the excluded 378 ad-hoc delegates in its primary election.
Judge Ekwo ruled that it was against the party’s constitution to exclude the plaintiffs from the Edo State PDP primary election on February 22 in order to choose its candidate for the upcoming governorship election in the state. This ruling was made in the course of delivering judgment in a suit that the aggrieved 378 ad-hoc delegates had brought before the lower court.
However, a three-member panel of the appellate court overturned Justice Ekwo’s ruling from July 4, 2024, arguing that the trial court had the authority to hear the delegates’ suit in the first place.
The panel held that the plaintiffs who instituted the suit lacked the necessary legal rights to initiate the suit since they were not aspirants seeking political office.
The Court of Appeal, in agreement with the submission of PDP, who had appealed the judgment of the lower court in a 25-ground appeal, argued that the issue of primary is an internal matter within the political party and, as such, outside the jurisdiction of any court, declared that a primary election is an internal affair of any political party; hence the grievances of the plaintiffs cannot be entertained by any court, as they are not contesting political office but selected to only participate in the selection of a candidate for the party.
Three aggrieved ad-hoc delegates, Kelvin Mohammed, Gabriel Okoduwa, and Ederaho Osagie, had sued the PDP on behalf of themselves and 378 other delegates over their exclusion in the February 22 primary election that produced Asue Ighodalo as the candidate to represent PDP in the forthcoming September 21 gubernatorial election in the state.
They had asked the court to determine, among other things, whether their exclusion from the said primary was not in breach of the party’s constitution. They also urged the court to order the PDP to allow their participation in the poll if the questions raised for determination were in their favour.
Justice Ekwo, delivering judgment in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/165/2024, said the primary failed to comply with Sections 82 of the Electoral Act, 2022, the guidelines for the conduct of the poll, and Article 50(3) of the party’s constitution.
He held that a PDP must comply with its constitution, maintaining that parties are bound by the Constitution of Nigeria, the Electoral Act, and their own constitution and guidelines.
He held that where a party acts contrary to the provisions of the law and the guidelines that they have enacted for themselves, such actions will be declared invalid.
The court held that the case of the plaintiffs merited justice and ordered the PDP not to exclude them from the February 22 primary.
