The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure has upheld the election of Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Dr. Olayide Adelami as the Governor and Deputy Governor of Ondo State, respectively.
They were elected in the governorship election held on November 16, 2024.
The ruling comes after the court dismissed appeals filed by several political parties.
The parties had challenged the decision of the Ondo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which on June 4, 2025, had affirmed the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates.
Persecondnews recalls that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied People’s Movement (APM) and Social Development Party (SDP) had filed appeals against the judgment of the tribunal, asking for the invalidation of the governorship election.
The judges, comprising Justice Nimpar Yargata, Justice K.I. Amadi and Justice I.M. Sani, unanimously struck out the appeals for failing to substantiate claims of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
They held that the appellants failed to prove their allegations against the election as they did not show how their claims affected the election in the various polling units, wards and local government areas where the election took place.
Also, the appellate court ruled that the parties abandoned their cases as there were no credible witnesses called at the tribunal to back up their claims of widespread irregularities in the various polling units.
It, therefore, upheld the judgments of the tribunal on all the cases and declared Aiyedatiwa and Adelami as the elected Governor and Deputy Governor of Ondo State.
The judges awarded a cost of N1.5m against the appellants.
In a post-judgment interview, Gov. Aiyedatiwa described the ruling as a welcome development, commending the Appeal Court justices for meticulously reviewing the cases and delivering thorough, unanimous judgments.
Aiyedatiwa expressed gratitude to God and the people of Ondo State, adding that the judgment of the Appeal Court has reaffirmed the will of the people.
He said: “I give glory to Almighty God who orchestrated this journey from the beginning and used the good people of Ondo State. Over 366,000 residents gave us their mandate on November 16 last year to continue governing this state as the seventh democratically elected governor.
“That mandate was validated by the tribunal and has now been reaffirmed by the Appeal Court.
“While some political parties tried to overturn the people’s decision through the backdoor, the judiciary has fulfilled its role by upholding the choice made by the majority of voters across the 18 local government areas of the state.”
The governor appreciated his deputy and his team of lawyers, as well as APC leaders and members, for their support.
Persecondnews recalls that in the election, the total valid votes stood at 497,077, with 11,886 rejected votes, bringing the total votes cast to 508,963.
Aiyedatiwa secured 366,781 votes, defeating Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party, who garnered 117,845 votes.
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