The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Monday dismissed an appeal filed by the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, challenging an amendment to a suit seeking to bar him from contesting the 2028 governorship election.
In a unanimous decision delivered by a three-member panel of justices, the appellate court held that the appeal lacked merit and awarded a cost of N2m against the governor.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam ruled that Aiyedatiwa failed to demonstrate that the Federal High Court in Akure denied him a fair hearing when it granted the plaintiff permission to amend the suit filed against him.
The court also held that the appellant could not establish that the trial court exercised its discretion based on any wrong legal principle.
The appellate court consequently upheld the November 24, 2025 ruling of the Federal High Court in Akure, which permitted the amendment of the originating summons in the case challenging the governor’s eligibility to seek re-election.
Aiyedatiwa was first sworn in on December 27, 2024, following the death of the former governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, to complete the remainder of his tenure.
He was later inaugurated again on February 24, 2025, after emerging victorious in the Ondo State governorship election.
Although the governor has not publicly declared any intention to seek another term, an All Progressives Congress chieftain, Dr Akindele Egbuwalo, filed a suit in July 2025, arguing that Aiyedatiwa would be ineligible to contest again in 2028 because he had already taken the oath of office twice.
Egbuwalo asked the court to interpret Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) in relation to the governor’s eligibility to run for office again.
The section provides that anyone sworn in to complete the tenure of an elected president can only be elected to the office for one additional term.
Similarly, Section 182(3) of the Constitution states that a person who assumes office as governor to complete another’s tenure cannot subsequently be elected to the same office for more than one additional term.
The defendants in the suit— the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Governor Aiyedatiwa, the All Progressives Congress, and the Deputy Governor, Dr Olayide Adelami—had earlier filed preliminary objections challenging the competence of the suit.
They argued that the matter was merely speculative and premature since the electoral umpire had yet to release the timetable for the next Ondo governorship election and the governor had not declared interest in contesting.
However, the plaintiff later sought to amend the suit, a move strongly opposed by the defendants who filed counter-affidavits urging the court to dismiss the application.
In a ruling delivered on November 24, 2025, Justice Toyin Adegoke of the Federal High Court in Akure granted the request to amend the originating processes.
Dissatisfied with the decision, Aiyedatiwa approached the Court of Appeal, alleging that the trial judge violated his constitutional right to fair hearing and acted beyond her powers by assuming jurisdiction over the matter.
Following the appeal, the Court of Appeal in Akure had earlier directed the lower court to suspend proceedings in the case, which was already awaiting judgment.
The case was subsequently transferred to the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which on Monday struck out the appeal marked CA/ABJ/319/2025.
