The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State capital, has dismissed the appeal filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the November 16 governorship election last year.
In a unanimous decision, the Justices of the appellate court; Justice Nimpar Yargata, Justice K.I. Amadi and Justice I.M. Sani affirmed the election of Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Dr. Olayide Adelami as the Governor and Deputy Governor of the state.
The Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the petitions filed against the victory of Governor Aiyedatiwa on the outcome of the November 16, 2024 governorship election.
The Tribunal presided by Justices Imelda Etiape, Daurabu Sikkam, and Benson Ogubu dismissed the petitions filed by Action Alliance (AA), Allied People’s Movement (APM), Social Democratic Party (SDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the victory of the Governor, his Deputy, Dr Olayide Adelami, All Progressives Congress (APC), and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Displeased with the verdict of the Tribunal, the political parties and their candidates approached the appellate court and asked the court to overturn the decision of the trial Tribunal.
However, the appeals were unanimously struck out, one after the other, for not substantiating the claims of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
The Justices held that the appellants failed to prove their allegations against the election as they did not show how their claims affected the election in the various polling units, wards, and local government areas where the election took place.
The appellate court also ruled that the parties abandoned their cases as there were no credible witnesses called at the tribunal to back up their claims of widespread irregularities in the various polling units.
The court affirmed the tribunal’s judgments on all the cases and declared Aiyedatiwa and Adelami as the elected Governor and Deputy Governor of Ondo State, awarding a cost of N1.5m against the appellants.
Aiyedatiwa, in his reaction, described the verdict as a welcome development, commending the Appeal Court justices for painstakingly going through the cases and delivering detailed, unanimous judgments.
Governor Aiyedatiwa expressed gratitude to God and the people of Ondo State, adding that the judgment of the Appeal Court has reaffirmed the will of the people.
His words: “I give glory to Almighty God who orchestrated this journey from the beginning and used the good people of Ondo State. Over 366,000 residents gave us their mandate on November 16 last year to continue governing this state as the seventh democratically elected governor.
“That mandate was validated by the tribunal and has now been reaffirmed by the Appeal Court. While some political parties tried to overturn the people’s decision through the back door, the judiciary has fulfilled its role by upholding the choice made by the majority of voters across the 18 local government areas of the state
“I want to use this opportunity to thank the people of Ondo State, who gave us the mandate overwhelmingly, a record-breaking victory. I want to thank their support from the beginning to this moment because they believe that the antics and rigmarole by other political parties that lost the election, especially the PDP, cannot steal the mandate through the back door.
“ Today, the Appeal Court has just affirmed that we convincingly won the election. I want to thank the panels of judges right from the petition to the appeal for painstakingly going through the entire process, looking at issues that were raised and dispensed justice without fear or favour,” he said.
The governor also extended his gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for giving a level playing ground for all parties.
