Court of Appeal Upholds Aiyedatiwa’s Governorship Mandate

A Court of Appeal located in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, has affirmed Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s election as the state’s governor.

The appeals of all appellants, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were unanimously dismissed by the three-member appellate court on Thursday for lack of merit.

The Court of Appeal maintained the previous ruling of the lower court, reaffirming the election of Dr. Olayide Adelami and Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the governor and deputy governor of Ondo State.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) proclaimed Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Olayide Adelami of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winners of the November 16, 2024, governorship election, which was upheld by the Ondo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal on June 4, 2025.

However, in their appeals against the tribunal’s ruling, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied People’s Movement (APM), and Social Development Party (SDP) asked the appellate court to declare the results of the November 16, 2024, governorship election null.

This came after the ruling of the Ondo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal on June 4, 2025, which upheld the election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates, dismissed the petitions of a few political parties.
The three presiding judges, Justices Nimpar Yargata, K.I. Amadi, and I.M. Sani, unanimously rejected the appeals one after the other because the appellants had not provided evidence to support their allegations of noncompliance with the Electoral Act.

According to the Justices, the appellants were unable to demonstrate how their claims impacted the election in the several voting places, wards, and local government districts where the election was held, therefore failing to prove their claims against the election.

The parties’ assertions of extensive irregularities in the various voting units were not supported by any credible witnesses called to the tribunal, hence the court also decided that the parties had abandoned their arguments.

In order to declare Dr. Aiyedatiwa and Dr. Adelami the elected governor and deputy governor of Ondo State, the Court of Appeal upheld the tribunal’s rulings in every case and assessed the appellants N1.5 million in costs.

In response to the verdict, Governor Aiyedatiwa praised the justices of the Appeal Court for their meticulous review of the cases and their comprehensive, unanimous rulings.

In addition to thanking God and the people of Ondo State, he said that the Appeal Court’s ruling had upheld the people’s will.

According to Governor Aiyedatiwa, “I give glory to Almighty God who used the good people of Ondo State and orchestrated this journey from the beginning.” As the eighth democratically elected governor of this state, we were voted in by more than 366,000 citizens on November 16 of last year.

The Appeal Court has now confirmed the tribunal’s validation of that mandate. Although certain political parties attempted to use the backdoor to overturn the people’s decision, the court has performed its duty by preserving the decision reached by the majority of voters in each of the state’s 18 local government districts.

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For their assistance, Governor Aiyedatiwa also thanked his deputy, his legal staff, and APC leaders and members.

The PDP and others’ claims were denied by the tribunal led by Justice Benson Ogubu, which declared that “the petitions against the victory of Aiyedatiwa and his deputy were worthless and unmerritorious and were accordingly dismissed.”

In response to the ruling of the Appeal Court, APC state chairman Engr. Ade Adetimehin advised the PDP and other appellants to simply stop pursuing frivolities, citing the lack of substantive evidence to support their allegations.

He advised them to adopt a sportsmanlike attitude and advised them to go and get ready for the upcoming election.

“I don’t think they will still go to the Supreme Court because I don’t see anything substantial in their claims,” Adetimehin stated.

In the upcoming years, the state will hold another election, so they should just quit wasting time and money and start getting ready for it. They ought to concede the match.