Court Dismisses PDP’s Suit Challenging Ize-Iyamu’s Candidacy

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

In the suit, the PDP is challenging the eligibility of Mr Ize-Iyamu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to participate in the September governorship election in Edo State.

In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, Justice Ahmed Mohammed said the suit has become a mere academic exercise owing to the outcome of the election which the APC and Ize-Iyamu lost.

Justice Mohammed insisted that the suit was unnecessary as the APC candidate had not challenged the outcome of the election at the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

On July 3, the PDP had filed a suit claiming that Ize-Iyamu was not a product of a valid primary election.

It argued that he should not have been allowed to participate in the election which was keenly contested on September 19, 2020.

Governor Obaseki contested the September 19 governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a bid to extend his stay in office by another four years.

After defecting from the APC to the PDP, he went ahead to defeat Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu and was returned elected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The governor secured 307,955 of the total votes, 84,336 more votes than his closest rival Ize-Iyamu, who got 223, 619 votes.