On Friday, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal seeking to disqualify Asue Ighodalo as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo.

A three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Hamma Barka, dismissed the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/863/2024.

The appeal was filed by governorship aspirants Arthur Esene and Anselm Ojezua. 

Messrs Esene and Ojezua had, in the appeal, prayed the Court of Appeal to set aside the April 17 judgment by Justice James Omotosho of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, which dismissed their suit for being statute barred.

Mr Barka held that the suit filed before the Federal High Court by Mr Ojezua and four others was filed out of time and statute barred.

He agreed with the judgment of the Federal High Court that not Mr Ojezua and others failed to establish their claims that Mr Ighodalo forged his voter’s card.

In addition, the judge held that their suit was bereft of merit because it was based on a flawed assumption that no possession of a voter’s card constitutes a ground to disqualify a candidate from contesting the election.

He found that the appellants failed to appeal the findings of the trial court that Mr Ighodalo applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the transfer of his registration from Lagos State to Edo and that the electoral umpire issued a voter’s card to him.

Justice Barka, therefore, struck out the appeal for being without merit and awarded the cost of N3 million against the appellants and in favour of Mr Ighodalo, PDP and INEC. 

(NAN)