By Our Reporter 

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Monday dismissed an appeal filed by the Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, challenging the amendment of a suit seeking to bar him from contesting the 2028 governorship election.

In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel of the appellate court held that the appeal lacked merit and consequently awarded a cost of N2 million against the governor.

Delivering the lead judgement, Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam held that Aiyedatiwa failed to establish that the Federal High Court in Akure denied him fair hearing when it exercised its discretion to grant leave for the amendment of the suit filed against him.

The court further ruled that the appellant could not demonstrate that the trial court’s exercise of discretion was based on any wrong legal principle.

The appellate court therefore affirmed the ruling delivered on November 24, 2025, by the Federal High Court in Akure, which allowed the amendment of the originating summons in the case against the Ondo State governor.

Aiyedatiwa was first sworn in as governor on December 27, 2024, following the death of the then governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, whose tenure he completed.

He was subsequently inaugurated again on February 24, 2025, after winning the Ondo State governorship election.

Although the governor has not publicly declared any intention to seek re-election, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Akindele Egbuwalo, approached the court in July 2025, arguing that Aiyedatiwa would not be eligible to contest again in 2028.

Egbuwalo maintained that the governor had already taken the oath of office twice and therefore required the court to interpret relevant constitutional provisions on his eligibility.

The plaintiff specifically asked the court to interpret Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which provides that a person sworn in as president to complete the tenure of another can only be elected to that office for one additional term.

Similarly, Section 182(3) of the Constitution stipulates that a person sworn in as governor to complete the tenure of another elected governor cannot be elected to the same office for more than one additional term.

The defendants in the suit—the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Governor Aiyedatiwa, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olayide Adelami—filed preliminary objections challenging the competence of the suit.

They argued that the case was merely academic and premature since INEC had not released the timetable for the next Ondo governorship election and the governor had not declared his intention to contest.

Following the objections, the plaintiff applied to amend the suit, a move strongly opposed by the defendants, who filed counter-affidavits urging the court to dismiss the application.

However, in a ruling delivered on November 24, 2025, Justice Toyin Adegoke of the Federal High Court in Akure granted the application and allowed the amendment of the originating processes.

Dissatisfied with the decision, Governor Aiyedatiwa filed an appeal, alleging that the trial court breached his constitutional right to fair hearing and acted beyond its jurisdiction.

Due to the appeal, the Court of Appeal in Akure initially ordered the Federal High Court to suspend proceedings in the case, which had already been fixed for judgment.

The matter was later transferred to the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which on Monday dismissed the appeal marked CA/ABJ/319/2025.