The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal by governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Arthur Esene and Anselm Ojezua, who sought the disqualification of the party’s candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
The ruling comes as the state prepares for its governorship election on September 21, 2024.
Esene and Ojezua had appealed a Federal High Court judgment issued by Justice James Omotosho on April 17, which had dismissed their case, declaring it statute-barred. In their appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/863/2024, they called for the court to overturn the earlier decision, claiming Ighodalo had forged his voter’s card.
Justice Omotosho, however, had ruled that the appellants not only failed to substantiate their allegations but also noted that the absence of a voter’s card did not disqualify a candidate from running for office under the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
Delivering the lead judgment at the Court of Appeal on Friday, Justice Hamma Barka upheld the Federal High Court’s decision, agreeing that the case was filed beyond the legal timeframe and was statute-barred. He also supported the lower court’s conclusion that Ojezua and others failed to prove their claim of forgery. Additionally, he emphasized that the suit was based on an incorrect assumption that the lack of a voter’s card could disqualify a candidate.
The court further confirmed that Ighodalo had applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transfer his voter registration from Lagos to Edo State, and that INEC had issued him a valid voter’s card.
In dismissing the appeal, Justice Barka awarded costs of N3 million against the appellants in favor of Ighodalo, PDP, and INEC. Justices Usman Musale and Okon Abang concurred with the lead judgment.
