A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has barred request to stop Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, from participating in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary election slated for Thursday, June 25, 2020.
Governor Obaseki was granted a waiver by the PDP recently after he joined the opposition party from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The suit was instituted by one of the governorship aspirants of the PDP, Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, who had vowed not to step down for Gov. Obaseki.
He maintained that the governor just joined the party, insisting that only those who purchased the forms during the stipulated time frame should participate in the primary election.
Like the APC, Ogbeide-Ihama also doubted his educational certificates and prayed that the primary be suspended pending hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The judge, E. A Obile, however, did not grant the request. The judge asked that the motion seeking to bar Mr Obaseki be served on the defendants including Mr Obaseki via newspaper publication.
Besides, the PDP has asked the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad Tanko to sanction Justice Obile of the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court for assuming wrong jurisdiction on a case.
In a petition, the party also asked that the Chief Judge (CJ) of the Federal High Court should be advised to reassign the suit to another judge of the Federal High Court at the Abuja Division of the Court.
Mr Obaseki joined the Peoples Democratic Party on Friday after he was disqualified by his former party, APC, from seeking re-election allegedly for submitting questionable certificates.
