The Court of Appeal, Akure Division, has dismissed the appeal filed against the victory of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State and his Deputy, Olayide Adelami, at the November 16, 2024, governorship election.
The court in a unanimous judgment read by Oyebisi Omoleye, a judge, affirmed the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court, which dismissed the suit filed by the candidate of the New Nigeria People (NNPP) in the election, Olugbenga Edema.
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Mr Edema had challenged the validity of the primary that produced Mr Aiyedatiwa as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He also sought the court’s order to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the nomination and the publication of the names of Messrs Aiyedatiwa and Adelami as the APC governorship and deputy governorship candidates.
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He also asked the court to interpret the applicability of Section 15 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) over the nomination of the APC candidates.
In the suit, Mr Aiyedatiwa, Mr Adelami, INEC, and APC were defendants.
At the hearing of the appeal, Abayomi Ojo represented the appellant while
Prince Onwjeome stood in for INEC, and Johnson Samuel was the counsel to the APC.
Similarly, Adesoji Adedoyin was Governor Aiyedatiwa’s counsel, Remi Olatubora represented the deputy governor, and SK Idowu was the counsel to the NNPP.
All the lawyers to the respondents challenged the appeal for lacking merit. They also asked the court to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, and that the suit and appeal constituted an abuse of court process.
In the verdict, the three-member appeal panel unanimously resolved all the issues formulated against Mr Edema. Consequently, it dismissed the appeal for abuse of court process and lack of merit.
However, the court held that striking out the name of the NNPP as one of the plaintiffs rendered the suit impotent and consequently dismissed it.
It also cited the refusal of the plaintiff to obey an earlier court order as a basis for the appeal’s failure.
The court awarded a fine of one million to each of the respondents.
Reacting to the court’s decision, Mr Olatubora said the case filed by Mr Edema constituted abuse of court process since the same appeal court had dismissed a similar case earlier.
“Going forward, our system must be reformed in such a way that a suit like this one should never be permitted in the first instance,” he said.
READ ALSO: Court dismisses suit challenging Aiyedatiwa, deputy’s eligibility for 2024 election
“This is a case of an individual who contested the election as the candidate of NNPP and now came to court after the conclusion of the election to challenge Aiyedatiwa, who was declared the winner of the election on the platform of APC.
“I feel that our law should not allow this kind of suit, and you can imagine the amount of time we have spent litigating this case at the Federal High Court and subsequently at the Court of Appeal. The joy is that justice has been done and the case has been dismissed with a cost of N1 million to each respondent,” Mr Olatubora added.
Similarly, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Kayode Ajulo, who witnessed the hearing and judgment of the suit, saluted the industry and courage of the judges, saying he agreed with the court’s decision.
“One cannot but salute the industry and courage of the judges. I was in the court from the beginning to the end. You can see the erudition and the research that can sum up the judgment,” he said.
“On the judgment, I think we will need to first see this as another reaffirmation of the mandate of the people reposed on the governor of the state, Dr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa.”
