Edo State’s immediate past Deputy Governor, Phillip Shaibu, claims vindication after a Federal High Court invalidated the PDP’s governorship primary election, supporting his long-standing allegations of election fraud and lack of internal democracy.
Immediate past Deputy Governor of Edo State, Phillip Shaibu, has declared that he has been vindicated by the Federal High Court’s recent judgment invalidating the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary election. Shaibu’s reaction on Thursday came after Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo delivered the ruling, which he described as a confirmation of his persistent claims of electoral malpractice within the PDP.
Shaibu stated that the purported primary election held on February 22, 2024, was nothing more than a “tea party” devoid of any legal standing. He emphasized that the process, conducted at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin, lacked the integrity of a legitimate democratic exercise.
“I have consistently and persistently cried out loud and clear that the PDP killed internal democracy with the fraudulent ways its purported primary election was conducted,” Shaibu asserted. He maintained that the delegates who voted for him at his parallel primary election were the genuine representatives chosen by the people to nominate the PDP’s governorship candidate.
Shaibu also commented on the possibility of defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC), suggesting that such a move would not be inappropriate as long as it aligned with democratic principles. “When you see a political party wooing people to its group, that party wants to win. But when you see a party chasing people away, as in the case of the PDP, that party is planning nothing but rigging of the election,” he stated.
The court’s judgment by Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo invalidated the PDP primary election on the grounds that 378 delegates, who were supposed to participate in the voting, were unlawfully excluded. This ruling has bolstered Shaibu’s claims and has prompted calls for the PDP to reassess its internal democratic processes.
The decision is a significant development in the political landscape of Edo State, potentially reshaping the dynamics of the upcoming governorship election. As more details emerge, the implications of this ruling will become clearer, particularly concerning the future political ambitions of Phillip Shaibu and the strategies of the PDP and APC in Edo State.
