The Court of Appeal in Akure has upheld the election of Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Olayide Adelami, confirming the ruling of the tribunal that earlier validated their victory.
Aiyedatiwa, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner of the November 16, 2024, governorship poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission after polling 366,781 votes to defeat other candidates.
Following the announcement, several parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, Action Alliance, Allied Peoples’ Movement, and African Democratic Congress, filed petitions at the Ondo State Election Petition Tribunal.
They alleged that the election was marred by irregularities and that the outcome violated electoral laws.
However, the tribunal dismissed the petitions and upheld Aiyedatiwa’s win. Unhappy with the outcome, the petitioners approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the tribunal’s ruling.
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Delivering judgment on Thursday, July 31, a three-member panel comprising Justice Nimpar Yargata, Justice K.I. Amadi, and Justice I.M. Sani, struck out all the appeals, citing lack of evidence to support the allegations.
The court ruled that the appellants could not prove how the supposed irregularities affected the outcome of the election in the polling units, wards, or local government areas.
It further stated that the appellants had effectively abandoned their cases, as they failed to present credible witnesses before the tribunal.
The appeal court affirmed the tribunal’s decision in all the cases and maintained that Aiyedatiwa and Adelami were duly elected. It also awarded ₦1.5 million in costs against the appellants.