By Jimmy Fatunbi
A Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Thursday ruled that Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, is not eligible to contest the 2028 governorship election.
The suit was filed by an All Progressives Congress chieftain in the state, Dr Akin Egbuwalo, who asked the court to interpret Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution regarding the eligibility of Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Dr Olayide Adelami, to seek another term in office.
Defendants in the suit included the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Ondo State Attorney General, the Federal Ministry of Justice through the Attorney General of the Federation, Aiyedatiwa, Adelami and the All Progressives Congress.
Delivering judgment, Justice Toyin Adegoke held that Aiyedatiwa would be ineligible to contest in 2028, noting that he had already been sworn in on December 27, 2023, to complete the tenure of the late former governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, and was again inaugurated on February 24, 2025, after winning the November 16, 2024 governorship election.
The court ruled that allowing him to contest again would violate the constitutional limit of eight years in office for a governor.
Justice Adegoke cited the Supreme Court decision in Marwa v. Nyako, which established that a president or governor cannot remain in office beyond eight years under the 1999 Constitution.
The judge also held that the suit was neither speculative nor academic, stressing that the court had the jurisdiction to interpret constitutional provisions whenever called upon.
The court further ruled that the processes filed by some of the defendants were deemed abandoned after they failed to participate in the hearing of the case, leaving only the submissions of the plaintiff and the first and second defendants for consideration.
“If the third defendant is allowed to contest and serve another four years, that will be against the position of the law in Marwa v. Nyako, where the Supreme Court held that a president or governor cannot serve beyond eight years,” the judge said while granting all the reliefs sought by the plaintiff.
Earlier, on March 9, 2026, the Court of Appeal of Nigeria sitting in Abuja dismissed an appeal filed by Aiyedatiwa challenging an earlier ruling of the Federal High Court in the case.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel, Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam held that the trial court properly exercised its discretion when it granted the plaintiff’s application to amend his originating summons.
The appellate court ruled that Aiyedatiwa failed to prove that the amendment caused any miscarriage of justice or denied him a fair hearing.
Aiyedatiwa first assumed office as governor on December 27, 2023, following the death of Akeredolu. He was subsequently sworn in again on February 24, 2025, after winning the 2024 governorship election in the state.
In a recent interview marking his first anniversary in office, the governor maintained that only the Supreme Court could stop him from seeking re-election in 2028.
