The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, challenging a ruling of the Federal High Court in Akure in a suit questioning his eligibility to contest the next governorship election in the state.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel, the appellate court held that the trial court properly exercised its discretion when it granted an application by the plaintiff, Dr Akindele Egbuwalo, to amend his originating summons in the case.
Egbuwalo, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, had filed a suit at the Federal High Court seeking the interpretation of Section 137(3) of the Constitution in respect of the eligibility of Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Dr Olayide Adelami, to contest for a second term in office.
In a ruling on November 24, 2025, Justice Toyin Adegoke of the Federal High Court in Akure granted the plaintiff’s request to amend the originating processes.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Aiyedatiwa lodged an appeal, alleging a breach of his constitutional right to a fair hearing.
He claimed the trial judge acted ultra vires her powers and wrongly assumed jurisdiction.
Owing to Aiyedatiwa’s contentions, the Court of Appeal in Akure, where the matter was initially lodged, directed the high court to halt proceedings, which were already slated for judgment.
The case was later transferred to the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.
Reading the lead judgment on Monday, Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam ruled that Aiyedatiwa failed to show that the Federal High Court’s decision to allow the amendment occasioned any miscarriage of justice or denied him the right to a fair hearing.
The appellate court, therefore, dismissed the appeal for lacking merit and awarded N2m in costs against the governor.
The ruling affirmed the November 24, 2025, decision of the Federal High Court in Akure, which granted Egbuwalo leave to amend the originating summons in his suit challenging Aiyedatiwa’s eligibility for re-election.
Earlier in the proceedings, the Court of Appeal also dismissed an application filed by Aiyedatiwa, seeking to set aside an order it made on January 27, 2026, staying further proceedings in the suit before the Federal High Court.
The court held that the stay of proceedings did not amount to arresting the judgment of the trial court but was a lawful exercise of the appellate court’s jurisdiction aimed at protecting the integrity of its proceedings.
According to the court, the appeal had already been entered, records compiled, and briefs filed as of the time the order was made.
The panel further held that the order was necessary to preserve the res in the matter and prevent the appellate proceedings from being rendered nugatory.
It added that asking the Court of Appeal to set aside the order it validly made on January 27, 2026, would amount to inviting the court to sit on appeal over its own decision.
The court noted that the option available to the governor was to challenge the decision before the Supreme Court.
The panel subsequently ordered Aiyedatiwa to pay an additional N2 million in costs.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Ebenezer Adeniyan, speaking with The PUNCH, said the judgment of the appellate court was not the main case of the eligibility of Aiyedatiwa to contest the 2028 governorship election at the Federal High Court, Akure.
Adeniyan said the case was still pending in the lower court.
“The main case is still in court. This was just an appeal on an amendment to the main case,” he said.
Aiyedatiwa was first sworn in on December 27, 2024, to complete the tenure of the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.
He was subsequently inaugurated for a second time on February 24, 2025, following his victory in the governorship election held on November 16, 2024.
Although Aiyedatiwa has yet to indicate interest in running again, Egbuwalo approached the court in July 2025, insisting that Aiyedatiwa was not eligible to recontest in 2028, having already taken the oath of office twice.
The litigant sought an interpretation of Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) regarding Aiyedatiwa’s eligibility to run for governor again.
Section 137(3) provides that a person sworn in as president to complete the term for which another person was elected shall only be elected to such office for a maximum of one additional term.
Meanwhile, Section 182(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) stipulates that any person sworn in as governor to complete the term of another elected official is disqualified from being elected to the same office for more than a single term.