Ondo Guber: Supreme Court dismisses Ajayi’s appeal against candidacy of Aiyedatiwa

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed the appeal filed by Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State, against the candidacy of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

In the lead Judgement delivered by Justice Lawal Garba, the apex court dismissed Agboola Ajayi’s appeal on the ground that it was filed out of time and that he lacked the right to file the lawsuit being from another party.

The court added that the matter is an internal affair of the defendant’s party.

The apex court held that the appellants lacked the locus standi to pursue the case, rendering the appeal unsustainable, affirming that the case was statute-barred, upholding the decisions of the lower courts.

The judgment emphasised that the cause of action arose on May 20, 2024, when the nomination forms were submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), while the appellants filed their suit at the Federal High Court on June 7, 2024, well beyond the 14-day limit prescribed by law.

Ajayi had sought to nullify the election of Deputy Governor, Olayide Adelami, over allegations of discrepancies in his name change, as well as challenging the legitimacy of Aiyedatiwa and the APC in the case.

Ajayi’s argument centred on the claim that Adelami, who previously had “Jackson” as his middle name while in secondary school, had changed it to “Owolabi” without proper documentation.

However, the Supreme Court found no legal basis to disqualify the deputy governor on these grounds, emphasizing that name changes, when properly documented, do not constitute electoral fraud or disqualification.