APPEAL COURT DISMISSES AIYEDATIWA’S APPEAL OVER SUIT CHALLENGING 2028 GOVERNORSHIP ELIGIBILITY

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by Lucky Aiyedatiwa, governor of Ondo State, challenging a ruling of the Federal High Court that allowed an amendment in a suit seeking to bar him from contesting the 2028 governorship election.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Monday, a three-member panel of the appellate court held that the appeal lacked merit and awarded ₦2 million in costs against the governor.

Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who read the lead judgment, ruled that Aiyedatiwa failed to demonstrate that the Federal High Court in Akure denied him a fair hearing when it granted leave for the amendment of the originating summons.

The court further held that the governor did not establish that the trial court relied on a wrong legal principle in granting the application.

The appellate court consequently affirmed the ruling delivered on November 24, 2025, by Justice Toyin Adegoke, which permitted the amendment of the suit filed against the governor.

The case was instituted by Akindele Egbuwalo, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, who approached the court in July 2025 seeking a judicial interpretation of Aiyedatiwa’s eligibility to contest the 2028 Ondo governorship election.

Egbuwalo argued that the governor might be ineligible to seek another term because he has taken the oath of office twice.

Aiyedatiwa was first sworn in on December 27, 2024, following the death of former governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. He was later inaugurated again on February 24, 2025, after winning the governorship election.

In the suit, the plaintiff asked the court to interpret Sections 137(3) and 182(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as they apply to a person sworn in to complete the tenure of another elected official.

Section 182(3) provides that a person who assumes office as governor to complete another’s tenure cannot be elected to the same office for more than one additional term.

Other defendants in the suit include the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the APC, and Ondo State Deputy Governor Olayide Adelami.

They had filed preliminary objections, arguing that the suit was speculative and premature because the electoral body had not released a timetable for the next governorship election and the governor had not formally declared his intention to run.

However, the Federal High Court allowed the plaintiff to amend the originating processes in its November 2025 ruling.

Dissatisfied with the decision, Aiyedatiwa filed an appeal, alleging that the trial judge breached his constitutional right to fair hearing and acted outside her powers.

The appellate court has now dismissed the appeal, marked CA/ABJ/319/2025, thereby allowing the amended suit to proceed at the trial court.