Delta PDP Guber Candidate: Sheriff, Edevbie Know Fate, Oct 21

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Supreme Court will on October 21, 2022, decide between Delta State House of Assembly Speaker, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori and the state’s former Commissioner of Finance, Chief David Edevbie is the rightful person to fly the flag of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 governorship election in Delta State.

The court chose the date yesterday, shortly after taking argument from parties in an appeal seeking the disqualification of Oborevwori as candidate of the PDP in the next year’s governorship poll.

The appellant, Edevbie is asking the Supreme Court to re-affirm a judgment of a Federal High Court wish had ordered his party to forward his name as candidate in the forthcoming governorship poll after sacking Oborevwori over alleged falsification and forgery.

The PDP had declared the Speaker the candidate of the party after he won majority of the votes cast at its May 25, primary.

However, the former Finance Commissioner, alleging falsification and forgery of documents by Oborevwori, submitted to the PDP in his expression of interest and nomination forms had asked the Federal High Court to disqualify Oborevwori.

Delivering judgment on July 7, Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, had agreed with the plaintiff/appellant and subsequently ordered the sack of Oborevwori as candidate of the PDP and that the party should forward the name of Edevbie as the rightful candidate of the party.

However, a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Peter Ige had in a judgment faulted the decision of the trial court and ordered the reinstatement of Oborevwori as candidate of the PDP in the 2023 governorship election in Delta State.

Dissatisfied, Edevbie then approached the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment of the appellate court.

In a 23-ground of appeal, Edevbie faulted the entire unanimous decision Court of Appeal and asked the apex court to hold that he was the rightful candidate to fly the flag of the PDP in the Delta State governorship election.

Other respondents in the appeal besides Oborevwori are the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as 2nd and 3rd respectively.