The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday dismissed the appeal by governorship aspirants of the People’s Democratic Party in Edo State, Arthur Esene and Anselm Ojezua, seeking the disqualification of the party’s candidate in the forthcoming September 21 governorship election, Asue Ighodalo.
The plaintiffs claimed that Ighodalo forged his voter’s card and therefore should be disqualified from contesting the election.
The Court of Appeal upheld the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court, which dismissed the suit for being statute-barred and held that non-possession of a voter’s card does not constitute a disqualifying factor under the Constitution and the Electoral Act, according to Daily Post.
The court also found that the appellants failed to establish their claim that Ighodalo forged his voter’s card and that their suit was without merit.
Additionally, the court noted that Ighodalo had applied for the transfer of his registration from Lagos State to Edo State and had been issued a voter’s card by INEC.
The appeal was struck out for being without merit, and a cost of N3 million was awarded against the appellants in favor of Ighodalo, the PDP, and INEC.
