From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State, on Thursday, July 31, affirmed the election of Hon Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa and Dr Olayide Adelami as the Governor and Deputy Governor of Ondo State, respectively.
This followed the dismissal of the appeals of some political parties against the judgement of the Ondo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal of Wednesday, June 4, 2025, which affirmed the election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied People’s Movement (APM), and Social Democratic Party (SDP) had filed appeals against the judgement of the tribunal, asking for the invalidation of the Saturday, November 16, 2024, governorship election.
However, the three Justices, Justice Nimpar Yargata, Justice K.I. Amadi, and Justice I.M. Sani, unanimously struck out the appeals, one after the other, for not substantiating the claims of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
The Justices 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.
The appellate court also 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.
The court therefore affirmed the judgements of the tribunal on all the cases and declared Aiyedatiwa and Adelami as the elected Governor and Deputy Governor of Ondo State, awarding costs of ₦1.5m against the appellants.
Reacting to the judgement, Governor Aiyedatiwa described it as a welcome development, commending the Appeal Court Justices for painstakingly going through the cases and delivering detailed unanimous judgements.
Governor Aiyedatiwa expressed gratitude to God and the people of Ondo State, adding that the judgement 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,” he said.
Governor Aiyedatiwa also appreciated his deputy, his team of lawyers, as well as APC leaders and members for their support.
