Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s election victory has been reaffirmed by the Supreme Court following the withdrawal of multiple appeals challenging his mandate.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Agboola Ajayi, through his counsel, informed the apex court that he was stepping down from the case after extensive consultations within his party.
He also sent his best wishes to Governor Aiyedatiwa and promised to continue contributing to Ondo State’s progress.
A five-member panel of justices led by Justice Inyang Okoro struck out Ajayi’s appeal along with those filed by Bamidele Akingboye of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Ogunfeyimi Kolawole of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).
Counsel for Akingboye disclosed that their appeal was being abandoned following the death of the appellant, while lawyers representing the respondents raised no objections to the withdrawals.
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The legal tussle began after the November 16, 2024 governorship election, where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner with 366,781 votes across all 18 local government areas, defeating his closest rival, Ajayi.
Earlier, in June 2025, the Ondo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal dismissed petitions from the PDP, SDP, ADC, APM, and AA, ruling that allegations of irregularities were unfounded.
The Court of Appeal in Akure upheld the tribunal’s verdict in July, further strengthening Aiyedatiwa’s position.
This latest Supreme Court decision follows a March ruling where Ajayi’s separate challenge to Aiyedatiwa’s candidacy was struck out for being filed out of time.
The court had also ruled that, as a non-member of the APC, Ajayi lacked the legal right to question the party’s internal nomination process.
With the series of withdrawals and rulings, Aiyedatiwa’s victory now stands firmly secured.