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The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal by Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa challenging a High Court ruling in Akure on his eligibility to contest the next governorship election.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel on Monday, the appellate court held that the trial court acted properly when it allowed the plaintiff, Dr Akindele Egbuwalo, to amend his originating summons in the suit.
Egbuwalo, an All Progressives Congress chieftain in Ondo State, had filed the case seeking interpretation of Section 137(3) of the Constitution regarding the eligibility of Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Dr Olayide Adelami, to run for a second term.
Justice Toyin Adegoke of the High Court granted the amendment on November 24, 2025.
Dissatisfied, Aiyedatiwa appealed, claiming the trial judge acted beyond her powers and violated his constitutional right to a fair hearing.
During proceedings in Abuja, Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, reading the lead judgment, said Aiyedatiwa failed to demonstrate that the High Court’s decision caused any miscarriage of justice or denied him a fair hearing.
The appellate court dismissed the appeal for lack of merit and awarded N2 million in costs against the governor, upholding the November 2025 ruling.
Earlier, the Court of Appeal also rejected Aiyedatiwa’s attempt to set aside a January 27, 2026, order that stayed further proceedings in the suit at the High Court. The court said the stay was a lawful exercise of its jurisdiction to protect the integrity of ongoing proceedings, noting that the appeal had already been filed and records compiled.
The panel added that challenging its own order would be improper and advised the governor to pursue the matter before the Supreme Court if he wished. An additional N2 million in costs was awarded to the plaintiff.
Commenting on the judgment, Aiyedatiwa’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, said that the ruling concerned only the appeal over the amendment and not the main eligibility case to contest elections, which remains pending in the High Court in Akure.
Aiyedatiwa, who was first sworn in on December 27, 2024, to complete the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu’s tenure, was inaugurated for a full term on February 24, 2025, following his election victory in November 2024.
Although he has not indicated whether he will run again, Egbuwalo filed the suit in July 2025, arguing that the governor had already taken the oath of office twice and is therefore ineligible under Section 137(3) and Section 182(3) of the 1999 Constitution, which limit re-election to individuals completing another’s term.
