The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure on Thursday affirmed Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the duly elected governor of Ondo State.
The three-member panel dismissed appeals challenging Aiyedatiwa’s victory in the November 16, 2024 governorship election, upholding earlier judgments from the Federal High Court that had rejected the legal challenges for lack of merit and procedural irregularities.
The appeals had been filed by opponents questioning the validity of Aiyedatiwa’s candidacy and electoral victory, including allegations related to forgery and impersonation. However, the appeal court agreed that the appeals were not properly constituted and were filed outside the constitutional time limits.
The court also reaffirmed that the appellants lacked the legal standing to challenge the nomination of Aiyedatiwa by his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This judgment comes after the Supreme Court earlier this year had dismissed a similar appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Agboola Ajayi, who had challenged Aiyedatiwa’s legitimacy on procedural grounds and alleged discrepancies involving his deputy governor’s name change.
Following the ruling, celebrations broke out among Aiyedatiwa’s supporters, while party and government officials hailed the verdict as a further validation of the will of Ondo’s electorate.
Aiyedatiwa, who was officially inaugurated earlier in the year following the death of former Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, secured an unprecedented victory that saw him win in all 18 local government areas of the state.