Ondo Governoship Election: Court Throws Out Suit Challenging Aiyedatiwa, Deputy’s Qualification

The suit contesting the qualifications of Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Olayide Adelami, both All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the state’s November 16 governorship election, has been dismissed by the Federal High Court in Akure, the capital of Ondo State.
The suit was filed by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election, Agboola Ajayi, through his legal counsel, M Ndoka (SAN).

Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke, the presiding judge, stated in his ruling that the plaintiff lacked standing to bring the lawsuit

She went on to say that because Ajayi and his party, the PDP, had submitted their complaint beyond the 14-day period stipulated by the Electoral Act, it was statute-barred. Since the suit was filed by originating summons rather than a writ of summons, Justice Adegoke decided that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear it.

In his originating summons, the plaintiff said the first defendant, the APC deputy governorship candidate, Adelami, is known by multiple conflicting and irreconcilable names of Adelami Owolabi Jackson and Olaide Owolabi Adelami, arguing that with the conflicting names, the court should disqualify him and the governorship candidate.
He therefore sought a “declaration that the APC has no validly nominated governorship and deputy governorship candidate for the 2024 election.”

Ajayi asked for an order disqualifying the defendants from participating in the election and ordering and restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from publishing their names or allowing them to participate in the election.

However, Remi Olatubora (SAN), Counsel to Adelami, argued that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) result has the name Adelami Owolabi Jackson in 1974 and that a degree certificate from Ambrose Alli University issued in 1982 has the name Adelami Olaide Owolabi.
Olatubora said the grievance of the plaintiffs is not about discrepancies in the name but the order or arrangements of the names.

Other defence counsels, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), who represented Governor Aiyedatiwa, the second defendant; Ebun Adegboruwa (SAN), who represented the APC; and Charles Edosan (SAN), who represented INEC, agree with the position of Dr. Olatubora.

According to Olatubora, the plaintiffs have no right to file the suit following section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2022 because they are not members of the All Progressives Congress and did not participate in the primaries that produced Adelami and Aiyedatiwa as candidates.
He submitted that “the plaintiffs lack the locus standi to file the suit or seek the reliefs set out in the originating summons, adding that the suit, as a matter of law, does not qualify as a pre-election matter, and this court lacks jurisdiction.”

The presiding judge ruled that the issue involving certificate forgery and perjury was criminal, which required the calling of evidence from the authorities that issued the certificates in question.
She claims that Section 29 of the Electoral Act stipulates who is eligible to run against a political party’s candidate.
She pointed out that PDP and Ajayi were deprived of their legal right to contest their qualifications because they were not candidates in the APC primary that resulted in Aiyedatiwa and Adelami.
As a result, Justice Adegoke dismissed the case, ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to consider it, and settled all matters in the defendants’ favour.

Meanwhile, the Ondo State governor has reacted to the judgement, commending the court for the timely dismissal of the case, which he described as a needless distraction.
Aiyedatiwa has described as a welcome development the dismissal of a case challenging his qualification for the just-concluded governorship election in the State.

Ebenezer Adeniyan, the governor’s chief press secretary, released a statement on Monday on the governor’s behalf, providing journalists in Akure, the state capital, with this response.
The court dismissed the complaint that Agboola Ajayi, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the election, had brought before the Federal High Court on Monday.
Aiyedatiwa praised the court for dismissing the matter promptly, calling it a pointless diversion.