Ondo Guber: Court dismisses suit challenging eligibility of Aiyedatiwa, Adelami
A Federal High Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has dismissed the suit challenging the eligibility of the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and his deputy, Olayide Adelami, for the 16 November 2024 governorship election in the state.
The governorship candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Olugbenga Edema, had sought the court’s order to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the nomination and the names of Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his deputy as candidates.
Edema, who switched over to the NNPP after losing in the APC primaries, is challenging the APC governorship ticket obtained by Governor Aiyedatiwa, alleging that the ticket was fraudulently obtained. Meanwhile, Aiyedatiwa subsequently refuted this allegation.
The NNPP candidate approached 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.
The suit named Edema and NNPP plaintiffs and Aiyedatiwa, Adelami, INEC, and the APC defendants.
In her ruling on Monday, Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke said the notice of appeal does not automatically halt proceedings and noted the absence of an affidavit supporting the claim of a pending appeal.
She criticised the plaintiff’s disregard for the court’s order as self-serving and stated that the failure to amend the pleadings significantly impacted the case.
Consequently, she dismissed the suit and imposed a N100,000 fine on the plaintiff, stating that they did not warrant an adjournment.
