The Court of Appeal in Abuja has fixed 19 August for proper hearing in the appeal seeking to upturn the judgment of the Federal High Court declaring Olorogun David Edevbie as the lawful and authentic candidate of the Delta State Peoples Democratic Party for the 2023 governorship election.
At the proceeding this Monday, the judges granted a request for the abridgement of time to enable expeditious trial.
Accordingly, all the respondents were asked to file their replies within eight days while the appellant is to respond within two days.
On 7 July, the Federal High Court faulted the certificates and other documents filed by Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori for nomination as PDP governorship and ordered both the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognise Edevbie as the rightful and lawful candidate of the party for the forthcoming election.
In that judgment by Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court disqualified Oborevwori as PDP governorship candidate in Delta State on account of allegedly supplying false and forged documents to INEC. The judge subsequently directed INEC and the PDP to recognise the plaintiff as the PDP candidate in the 2023 governorship election.
Oborevwori, who is the Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, had emerged governorship candidate of the PDP in the 25 May primary election.
But Edevbie, a Commissioner of Finance under former Governor James Ibori, who came second in the primary, contested Oborevwori’s participation in the primary on the grounds of alleged discrepancies in his academic qualifications as well as his age.
