The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal challenging the candidacy of Asue Ighodalo, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the upcoming Edo State governorship election.
The appellate court's decision affirms a prior ruling by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had thrown out a suit brought by governorship aspirants Arthur Esene and Anselm Ojezua. The suit was dismissed as being statute-barred, with the court determining that not possessing a voter’s card does not disqualify a candidate under the Constitution or the Electoral Act.
Justice Hamma Barka, delivering the lead judgment, supported the findings of the lower court, declaring that the suit lacked merit and was filed too late. The court also found no evidence to support the appellants' claim that Ighodalo had forged his voter’s card.
It was further clarified that Ighodalo had legally applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to transfer his voter registration from Lagos to Edo State, where he was duly issued a new voter’s card.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and imposed a fine of N3 million on the appellants, to be paid to Ighodalo, the PDP, and INEC. see more
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