The All Progressives Congress (APC) recently faced another defeat in its bid to disqualify Asue Ighodalo, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from the upcoming Edo State election.

On Friday, a federal high court in Abuja dismissed APC’s lawsuit seeking to remove Ighodalo from the race. Justice Peter Lifu ruled in favor of Ighodalo, stating that the case brought by APC was baseless and without merit.

Chief Akinlolu Kehinde, the lawyer representing Ighodalo, argued that the APC’s case was both frivolous and unnecessary, a view that the court agreed with.

APC had attempted to use a previous ruling from July 4, which questioned the legitimacy of the PDP’s primary election that selected Ighodalo, as a basis for disqualification. However, Justice Lifu rejected this, stating that the court cannot act as its own appellate court, and dismissed APC’s involvement in PDP’s internal affairs as meddlesome.

Further strengthening Ighodalo’s case, Justice Lifu pointed out that the judgment being used to push for disqualification had already been overturned by the Court of Appeal.

The APC had sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Asue Ighodalo, and the PDP. However, the court’s final decision upheld Ighodalo’s candidacy, allowing him to remain in the gubernatorial race.