An Appeal Court in Akure, Ondo State capital, on Thursday validated the election of the Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the governor of Ondo State.
The court also dismissed all the appeals of all the appellants, including Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), for lack of merit.
The court reaffirmed the election of Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Dr. Olayide Adelami as the Governor and Deputy Governor of Ondo State, the Court of Appeal upheld the earlier decision of the lower Court.
The three presiding judges, Justice Nimpar Yargata, Justice K.I. Amadi and Justice I.M. Sani, unanimously struck out the appeals for failure of the appellants to substantiate the claims of non compliance with the Electoral Act.
They held that the appellants failed to prove their allegations against the election as they did not show how the claims affected the election in the various polling units, wards and local government areas where the election took place.
The 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 upper court affirmed the judgments of the tribunal on all the cases and declared Dr. Aiyedatiwa and Dr. Adelami as the elected Governor and Deputy Governor of Ondo State, giving cost of N1.5m against the appellants.
The Ondo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal had on June 4, 2025 upheld the results of the November 16, 2024 governorship election in election in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Olayide Adelami of All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winners of the election.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied People’s Movement (APM) and Social Development Party (SDP) filed appeals against the judgment of the tribunal, praying the appellate court to invalidation the November 16, 2024 governorship election results.
This was sequel to the dismissal of the appeals of some political parties against the judgment of the Ondo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal of June 4, 2025, which affirmed the election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates.
Governor Aiyedatiwa, reacting to his victory, commended the Appeal Court justices for the painstakingly going through the cases and delivering detailed unanimous judgments.
He gave gratitude to God and appreciated the people of Ondo State, adding that the judgment of the Appeal Court has reaffirmed the will of the people.
Governor Aiyedatiwa 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 Aiyedatiwa also appreciated his deputy, his team of lawyers, as well as APC leaders and members for their support.
