The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress as the governor of Ondo State.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Garba Lawal, the apex court dismissed the appeal of the Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Agboola Ajayi, seeking to nullify Aiyedatiwa’s victory.
The appellants had sought to nullify the election of Aiyedatiwa over allegations of discrepancies in his running mate Olayide Adelami’s name change and also challenged the legitimacy of Aiyedatiwa and the APC.
The appellants argued that Aiyedatiwa’s running mate, Adelami, who previously had the name “Jackson” as his middle name while in secondary school, had changed it to “Owolabi” without proper documentation.
However, the concurrent judgments of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal on the matter, which upheld the respondents’ qualifications, were affirmed.
Both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal dismissed Ajayi’s case on procedural grounds, upholding Aiyedatiwa’s victory.
Ajayi’s legal challenge, filed on June 7, 2024, claimed that Adelami’s eligibility was compromised due to alleged falsification of documents.
Meanwhile, the respondents—Aiyedatiwa, Adelami, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission—contended that Ajayi lacked the locus standi to file the suit.
They also argued that the filing exceeded the 14-day window prescribed for such cases.
On December 2, 2024, the Federal High Court dismissed Ajayi’s case, ruling that criminal accusations of forgery required more substantial evidence, which could not be presented through an originating summons.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment, upholding the lower court judgments, dismissed the appellants’ suit challenging Aiyedatiwa’s qualification to run in the November 16, 2024, governorship election.
The apex court also held that the appellants lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to pursue the case.
The court declared that it found no legal basis to disqualify the deputy governor based on the appellants’ claims, stating that name changes, when properly documented, do not constitute electoral fraud or grounds for disqualification.
The court further held that the case was statute-barred, upholding the decisions of the lower courts.
It emphasized that the cause of action arose on May 20, 2024, when the nomination forms were submitted to INEC, but the appellants filed their suit at the Federal High Court on June 7, 2024, well beyond the 14-day limit prescribed by law.
The Supreme Court described the petition as baseless, frivolous, and lacking in merit, declaring it “statute-barred” as it was filed after the constitutionally mandated deadline.
Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, with the court ordering Ajayi to pay ₦2 million in costs to each of the four respondents.
