Court bars Aiyedatiwa from seeking another term in 2028

The Federal High Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, on Thursday ruled that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa would be ineligible to contest for another term in office in 2028.

The suit was filed by a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Akin Egbuwalo, who asked the court to interpret Section 137(3) of the Constitution regarding the eligibility of Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Olayide Adelami, to contest for another term.

The defendants in the suit included the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Aiyedatiwa, Adelami and the APC.

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In a judgment delivered by Justice Toyin Adegoke, the court held that Aiyedatiwa would be ineligible to stand for election in 2028, having been sworn in on December 27, 2023, to complete the tenure of the late governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, and subsequently inaugurated on February 24, 2025, after winning the November 16, 2024, governorship election.

The judge declared that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) does not permit an elected president, vice-president, governor or deputy governor to spend more than eight years in office.

The court relied on the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Marwa v. Nyako.

The court also held that the suit was neither speculative nor academic, stressing that it had the inherent jurisdiction to interpret any section of the Constitution, being a creation of law and duty-bound to uphold it at all times.

Justice Adegoke further ruled that the processes filed by the third to fifth defendants were deemed abandoned because they failed to participate in the hearing of the suit.

Consequently, the court considered only the submissions of the plaintiff and the first and second defendants.

“If the third defendant is allowed to contest and serve another four years, that will be against the position of the law in Marwa versus Nyako, where the Supreme Court held that a president or governor cannot serve beyond eight years,” the court ruled.

The court added that it found merit in the plaintiff’s case and consequently granted all the reliefs sought.

Earlier, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja had dismissed an appeal filed by Aiyedatiwa challenging an earlier ruling of the Akure Federal High Court in the suit questioning his eligibility to contest the next governorship election in the state.

In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel, Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who read the lead judgment, held that the trial court properly exercised its discretion when it granted an application by the plaintiff to amend his originating summons.

The appellate court ruled that Aiyedatiwa failed to demonstrate that the Federal High Court’s decision to allow the amendment caused any miscarriage of justice or denied him the right to a fair hearing.