The Federal High Court, in a landmark judgment, has invalidated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election held on February 22, 2024, in Edo State, throwing the party into a legal quandary and upholding claims of internal democracy violations.
The ruling delivered by Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo on Thursday, declared the primary election, which took place at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin, as unlawful.
The judgment cited the exclusion of 378 legitimate delegates who were barred from voting—a move that significantly tainted the electoral process, according to the court.
Reacting to the judgment, the immediate past Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, expressed his vindication. 
Shaibu had been vocal about the flaws in the PDP’s primary process, which he described as a “tea party with no force of law.”
He argued that the event lacked the legal and democratic rigour required for such a significant electoral process.
Shaibu also highlighted that he had conducted a parallel primary election, where he claimed those who voted were the “authentic delegates lawfully chosen by the people” to nominate the governorship candidate for the PDP.
In the wake of the judicial ruling and the controversies surrounding the PDP’s handling of the primary election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has extended an invitation to Shaibu to join their ranks.
Commenting on this, Shaibu noted that shifting political allegiances is part of the democratic process, criticizing the PDP for what he perceives as its exclusivity and alleged plans to rig elections.
“When you see a political party wooing people to its group, that party wants to win but when you see a party chasing people away as in the case of the PDP, that party is planning nothing but the rigging of elections,” Shaibu remarked.
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