Ondo: Court rejects Aiyedatiwa's bid to overturn lawsuit questioning his qualification for another term

n n

Aiyedatiwa

n

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, ABUJA

n

The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja on Monday, dismissed an appeal filed by the Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, challenging an amendment to a suit aimed at barring him from seeking re-election in 2028.

n

The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, held that the appeal lacked merit and awarded costs of N2 million against Governor Aiyedatiwa.

n

In the lead judgement delivered by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, the court held that the appellant failed to establish that the Federal High Court in Akure denied him a fair hearing when it exercised its discretion to grant leave to amend the suit against him.

n

It further held that the governor was unable to prove that the trial court’s discretion was based on a wrong legal principle.

n

The appellate court affirmed the Federal High Court’s ruling of November 24, 2025, which allowed amendment of the originating summons filed against the Ondo State governor.

n

It will be recalled that Aiyedatiwa was first sworn in on December 27, 2024, to complete the tenure of the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

n

He was subsequently inaugurated for a second time on February 24, 2025, following his victory in the state’s governorship election.

n

Although Aiyedatiwa has yet to indicate interest in running again, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Akindele Egbuwalo, approached the court in July 2025.

n

Egbuwalo insisted that Aiyedatiwa is not eligible to recontest in 2028, having already taken the oath of office twice.

n

The litigant sought an interpretation of Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) regarding Aiyedatiwa’s eligibility to run for governor again.

n

Specifically, Section 137(3) provides that a person sworn in as president to complete the term for which another person was elected shall only be elected to such office for a maximum of one additional term.

n

Meanwhile, Section 182(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) stipulates that any person sworn in as governor to complete the term of another elected official is disqualified from being elected to the same office for more than a single term.

n

The defendants—the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice; Governor Aiyedatiwa; the All Progressives Congress (APC); and Deputy Governor Dr Olayide Adelami—filed notices of preliminary objection, challenging the competence of the suit as an academic exercise.

n

They further contended that the suit was premature, as INEC had not released the timetable for the Ondo governorship election and Aiyedatiwa had not indicated any intention to vie for office.

n

The plaintiff later applied to amend the suit, but the defendants vehemently opposed the move and filed counter-affidavits seeking dismissal of the application.

n

However, in a ruling on November 24, 2025, Justice Toyin Adegoke of the Federal High Court in Akure granted the plaintiff’s request to amend the originating processes.

n

Dissatisfied with the ruling, Governor Aiyedatiwa lodged an appeal, alleging a breach of his constitutional right to a fair hearing.

n

He claimed the trial judge acted ultra vires her powers and wrongly assumed jurisdiction.

n

Owing to Aiyedatiwa’s contentions, the Court of Appeal in Akure—where the matter was initially lodged—directed the high court to halt proceedings, which were already slated for judgement.

n

The case was later transferred to the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which on Monday dismissed the appeal marked CA/ABJ/319/2025.

n n