On Friday, a Federal High Court in Enugu dismissed a suit seeking to disqualify all Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates in Enugu State from running in the 2023 elections.
The case, brought by the African Democratic Congress, ADC’s Enugu North Senatorial district candidate, Chika Idoko, sought the disqualification of all PDP candidates for failing to submit their membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC on time.
Idoko claimed that the PDP primary election violated Section 77 of the Electoral Act and should thus be void, adding that the party should be punished in accordance with Section 84 of the same Act.
His argument was that the party violated the law by submitting its membership register to INEC on May 6, 2022, less than 30 days before its primary election.
In his decision, Justice Folashade Giwa-Ogunbanjo stated that because the plaintiff was not a member of the defendant’s political party, he lacked locus standi to challenge the internal affairs of another party.
Giwa-Ogunbanjo ruled that the Court of Appeal’s judicial authorities in the country’s various divisions had decided on the issue of locus standi, which states that a non-party member cannot challenge the internal affairs of another political party.
The Judge dismissed the case due to a lack of jurisdiction.
