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A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has refused to stop Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, from participating in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary election scheduled for Thursday, Premium Times reports.
Earlier on Tuesday, several newspapers and online medium, including Newspeakonline reported that Obaseki had been barred by the court from contesting the election. But it has now been confirmed that those accounts of the court proceeding were inaccurate.
Obaseki was granted 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 Obaseki.
In the suit, Ogbeide-Ihama said that the governor recently joined the party and only those who purchased the forms during the stipulated period should be allowed to participate in the primary election.
He also questioned Obaseki’s educational credentials, just like the APC did.
Ogbeide-Ihama prayed that the primaries be put on hold pending when the court would hear the motion on notice.
In his ruling, Justice E. A Obile, did not grant that prayer. He asked that the motion seeking to bar Obaseki be served on the defendants including the PDP via newspaper publication.
Obaseki joined the Peoples Democratic Party last week after he was disqualified by his former party, APC, from seeking re-election for allegedly submitting questionable certificates.