Appeal Court Affirms Aiyedatiwa Ondo Governor

The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State, on Thursday affirmed Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Dr Olayide Adelami, as the winners of the November 16, 2024, governorship election in Ondo State.

The three-member panel of the appellate court, in a unanimous decision, dismissed the suits filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Agboola Ajayi, for lacking merit.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the poll, having polled a total of 366,781 votes, defeating the candidates of other parties in the poll.

The PDP and Ajayi had challenged the victory of the governor at the state Election Petition Tribunal, alleging that the election was marred by irregularities and electoral malpractices at many polling units.

They also alleged that the election was not conducted in compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act. However, the tribunal struck out their suit

Dissatisfied, they approached the appeal court, praying for an order setting aside the decision of the tribunal.

In its judgement on Thursday, the panel of Justices, Justice Nimpar Yargata, Justice K.I. Amadi and Justice I.M. Sani unanimously dismissed the appeal for not substantiating the claims of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

The appellate court also held that the appellants failed to prove their allegations of irregularities at various polling units, wards and local government areas where the election took place.

The appellate court also ruled that the appellants abandoned their case, as they failed to provide credible witnesses to back up their claims.

The court therefore affirmed the judgments of the tribunal and declared Aiyedatiwa and Adelami as the elected Governor and Deputy Governor of the state.

The court also struck out petitions filed by the Social Democratic Party, the Action Alliance, the Allied Peoples’ Movement and the African Democratic Congress, respectively and awarded a sum of N1.5m against the appellants.