Court strikes out unlawful nomination suit against Ize-Iyamu

The Federal High Court Abuja, on Tuesday, struck out a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking Osagie Ize-Iyamu’s disqualification from the Sept. 19 governorship election in Edo.

Delivering judgment, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, struck out the suit on grounds that it had become academic.

The judge also said that he saw no legal benefit that would accrue to the plaintiff if the suit succeeded.

The PDP had dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Ize-Iyamu to court praying for an order disqualifying Ize-Iyamu from the elections on the grounds that he was unlawfully nominated by APC.

The PDP alleged that he was unlawfully nominated because APC did not conduct proper primaries to nominate candidates for the Sept. 19 election in Edo.

The party based its allegation on the grounds that Mr Adams Oshiomohle, who conducted the “purported” primaries that nominated Ize-Iyamu was no longer national chairman of the party and had no right to conduct the primaries.

The PDP held that the APC, having failed to conduct a valid primary election, was not entitled to participate in the election.

Objecting to the suit, the APC held that the election had already been conducted and the candidate of the PDP had won the election.

The APC also submitted that it had not challenged the outcome of the election, neither did it petition the winners at the election petition tribunal.

On the last adjourned date, Mrs Wendy Kuku, arguing on behalf of INEC, had urged the court to dismiss the suit for lacking in merit.

Similarly, counsel to the APC, Mr Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, had prayed the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that the suit was tantamount to “Mr A taking panadol for Mr B’s headache’’.

Ize-Iyamu’s counsel, Roland Otaru (SAN) had also prayed the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that it had become academic since the election had already been conducted and won by Gov. Godwin Obaseki.