By Our Reporter
Political calculations in Ondo State were thrown into sudden uncertainty on Thursday when a Federal High Court sitting in Akure delivered a judgment that could significantly reshape the state’s political landscape.
In a ruling that has already stirred debate across political and legal circles, the court restrained Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, from seeking another term in office.
Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke, who presided over the case, held that the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) does not envisage a situation where an elected President, Vice President, Governor or Deputy Governor would remain in office for more than eight years.
The judgment followed a legal challenge filed by a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Akin Egbuwalo, who asked the court to interpret the constitutional provisions governing tenure in executive offices.
Egbuwalo, through his counsel, Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), sought clarification on the implications of the governor’s tenure under Section 137(3) of the Constitution.
Also joined in the suit as defendants were the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Governor Aiyedatiwa, the APC and the Deputy Governor, Olayide Adelami.
At the centre of the controversy is the unique political trajectory that brought Aiyedatiwa to power.
He was first sworn in as governor on December 27, 2023, following the death of his predecessor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, whose tenure he was required to complete.
Barely a year later, he secured his own mandate after winning the November 16, 2024 governorship election, defeating the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Agboola Ajayi. He was subsequently sworn in again on February 24, 2025.
It was this sequence of events that triggered the constitutional question before the court.
In her ruling, Justice Adegoke noted that the processes filed by the third to fifth defendants were deemed abandoned because they failed to participate in the hearing of the case.
As a result, the court considered only the submissions of the plaintiff and the first two defendants.
The judge also dismissed the objection that the suit was speculative or merely academic, ruling that it raised a legitimate constitutional issue requiring judicial interpretation.
Citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Marwa v. Nyako, Justice Adegoke stated that allowing the governor to contest and serve another four-year term would contradict the established legal principle that no President or Governor should remain in office for more than eight years.
“If the third defendant is allowed to contest and serve another four years, that will be against the position of the law,” the court held, referencing the precedent set by the apex court.
The judge further emphasised that whenever a court is invited to interpret provisions of the Constitution, it possesses the inherent jurisdiction to do so, since the judiciary itself is a creation of law and must uphold the supremacy of the Constitution.
Having found merit in the plaintiff’s argument, the court granted all the reliefs sought, effectively restraining Governor Aiyedatiwa from seeking another term in office.
While the ruling may still be tested at the appellate courts, it has already injected a fresh layer of intrigue into Ondo State’s political future and reopened the debate over constitutional limits on executive tenure in Nigeria.
