On Monday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja made a significant decision regarding the Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary election. The court overturned a previous judgment by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, which had ordered the PDP to include 378 excluded ad-hoc delegates in the primary election.
The excluded delegates had taken their case to the lower court, arguing that their exclusion from the February 22 primary election was unfair and against the PDP’s constitution. Justice Ekwo had ruled in their favor, stating that they should be allowed to participate in the primary election.
However, the Court of Appeal disagreed with this decision. A three-man panel of judges set aside Justice Ekwo’s judgment, citing that the lower courtlacked jurisdiction to hear the case in the first place. The appellate court ruled that the plaintiffs (the excluded delegates) did not have the necessary legal standing to bring the case, as they were not aspirants seeking political office.
The Court of Appeal agreed with the PDP’s argument that primary elections are internal matters for political parties and should not be subject to court intervention. The court declared that only aspirants seeking political office have the right to challenge a primary election, not delegates selected to participate in the selection process.
In essence, the Court of Appeal’s decision means that the excluded delegates will not be allowed to participate in the PDP’s primary election, and the party’s internal decision-making process will not be subject to court scrutiny.
