The Supreme Court has put an end to the long-standing legal dispute over Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s eligibility to run in the November 2024 gubernatorial election.
The apex court dismissed the appeal filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Agboola Ajayi, who had challenged Aiyedatiwa’s victory.
This decision marks the end of a nearly nine-month legal saga, cementing Aiyedatiwa’s win with 366,781 votes, compared to Ajayi’s 117,845 votes.
Persecondnews reports that the court dismissed the appeal on Tuesday, ruling that it was without substance, frivolous, and devoid of merit.
Justice Garba Lawal’s lead judgment upheld the concurrent rulings of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Persecondnews had reported that Ajayi had sought to nullify Aiyedatiwa’s victory, accusing the governor’s deputy, Olayide Adelami of forgery, impersonation, and using a false identity.
However, both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal dismissed Ajayi’s case on procedural grounds, upholding Aiyedatiwa’s win.
Ajayi filed a lawsuit on June 7, 2024, arguing that Adelami was ineligible due to allegedly falsified documents.
During the preliminary hearing, the defendants, including Aiyedatiwa, Adelami, the All Progressive Congress(APC), and the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), argued that Ajayi lacked the legal standing to bring the suit and that the filing exceeded the 14-day window for such cases.
The Federal High Court dismissed Ajayi’s case on December 2, 2024, citing insufficient evidence to support forgery allegations, which could not be presented through an originating summons.
Additionally, the court ruled that the petition was “statute-barred” due to its late filing, which exceeded the deadline stipulated by the constitution.
The Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed the decision on January 18, 2025, and further ordered Ajayi to pay a fine of N500,000.
The Supreme Court’s latest verdict has finally laid to rest the prolonged legal battle surrounding the Ondo State governorship election.
In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled against the two appellants on the issue of locus standi, stating that they lacked the legal standing to pursue the case, rendering the appeal unsustainable.
Furthermore, the Court confirmed that the case was statute-barred from the outset, thereby upholding the rulings of the lower courts.
Justice Lawal stressed that the cause of action began on May 20, 2024, when the nomination forms were submitted to INEC, but the PDP and Ajayi did not file their suit at the Federal High Court until June 7, 2024, which was well past the 14-day deadline mandated by law.
Ajayi sought to nullify Adelami’s election due to alleged discrepancies in his name change, while also challenging the legitimacy of Gov. Aiyedatiwa and the APC in the case.
His argument centered on the claim that Adelami, who previously had “Jackson” as his middle name while in secondary school, had changed it to “Owolabi” without proper documentation.
However, the Supreme Court found no legal basis to disqualify the deputy governor on the grounds, emphasizing that name changes, when properly documented, do not constitute electoral fraud or cause for disqualification.
The Court ultimately dismissed the appeal and ordered Ajayi and PDP to pay N2 million in costs to each of the four respondents.
Persecondnews had reported that Gov. Aiyedatiwa swept the Ondo State gubernatorial election, winning all 18 local government areas on November 16, 2024.
He won with a total of 366,781 votes, defeating his closest rival, Ajayi Agboola, a former deputy governor who represented the PDP and secured 117,845 votes.
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