The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday upheld the nomination of Dr. Asue Ighodalo as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2024 Edo State gubernatorial election.

The court’s decision, delivered by Justice James Omotosho, came in a judgment on a suit marked CS/469/24. The court dismissed the case filed by Philip Shaibu, who had challenged Ighodalo’s nomination as the PDP’s candidate.

In its ruling, the court held that Ighodalo was duly nominated during the party’s primary election, which was held on February 22, 2024, at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City. Ighodalo emerged victorious, securing 577 votes to defeat Shaibu and 10 other aspirants.

The court further determined that the plaintiffs’ case lacked merit, as they failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that Ighodalo had forged his voter’s card. Moreover, the court ruled that the action was statute-barred and consequently struck it out.