Edo PDP primary: Supreme Court declares Obaseki’s faction authentic party candidates

The Supreme Court on Wednesday recognized a faction of Governor Godwin Obaseki as the authentic People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidates in the upcoming general election.

Both Governor Obaseki and a PDP National Vice Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, are engaged in a leadership battle for the soul of the party in Edo State.

While a federal high court in Abuja in May last year recognized Orbih’s faction as the authentic candidates, another court in Benin City recognized Obaseki’s faction.

Both have appealed against the court’s verdict against them before the Court of Appeal.

The crux of the matter is who has the power to hold the primaries for the selection of party banner bearers for the National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections, scheduled for February 25 and March 11 of this year.

The verdict, which resulted from a consolidation of all matters related to the leadership struggle, has allayed concerns about the right persons to represent the party in the elections.

Judgment in the appeal filed by Omorie Ogbeide-Ihama and others against Hon. Mathew Iduoriyekemwen and others, the apex court ruled that the appellant’s case was flawed as it did not arise from the appeals court ruling.

In the application SC/CV/1575/2022, the appellants had requested that the judgment of the lower court be reversed, arguing that it committed an error of law in not including them as legitimate PDP candidates in the elections declared.

But the apex court, in its verdict of judge Centus Nweze, rejected the appeal because it lacked jurisdiction.

According to the ruling, an appeal must be based on issues raised in the lower court in order to be eligible for review.

“Any plea that does not contest the issues raised in the lower court is without jurisdiction. I am executing judgment in favor of the respondents,” the apex court ruled.

Speaking to journalists, Shuaibu was in court shortly after the verdict was handed down to witness the proceedings and expressed his joy that the matter has finally settled down.

He called on all PDP members to join hands to perform for the party in all elections, stating that there is no winner or loser as victory belongs to the PDP.

Shuaibu urged the injured parties to embrace peace, saying the umbrella is now wider to accommodate everyone.

Recall that a federal high court in Benin city, Edo state, had ordered the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) to recognize and publish the names of candidates put forward by Obaseki’s faction as PDP candidates in the elections of 2023.

Earlier, Judge Inyang Ekwo of the Federal Supreme Court in Abuja in a related court case ordered INEC to recognize the candidates of Chief Dan Orbih faction as authentic candidates of the PDP for the upcoming elections.

The parties in their various lawsuits had asked the court for an order to compel INEC to publish their names as the validly elected candidates of the Edo State PDP for the 2023 general election.

In his judgment, Justice SM Shuaibu of the Federal Supreme Court, Benin ruled, based on previous decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, that only the National Working Committee (NWC) of a political party has the power to conduct party primaries.

According to him: “There is nothing in court to show that the primaries in which the 4th to 39th defendants participated were conducted by the National Working Committee of the PDP. Rather, their primaries were conducted by the Edo State chapter of the PDP.

The judge further ruled: “In my opinion, INEC’s jurisdiction under Section 84 of the Electoral Act is limited to supervising party primaries and does not extend to preparing or announcing the results of those elections. This remains the law.

“In light of the foregoing, the 4th Defendant, INEC, cannot rely on the results prepared by the First Defendant, Edo State PDP.”

Dissatisfied, the Orbih faction appealed the verdict all the way to the Supreme Court, where a verdict was handed down against them today.

Deputy Governor of Edo State Philip Shuaibu described the verdict as “no winner, no loser” in his response.