ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, challenging an amendment to a suit aimed at barring him from seeking re-election in 2028.
In a unanimous decision on Monday, a three-member panel of justices held that the appeal lacked merit and awarded costs of N2 million against the governor.
Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who delivered the lead judgment, ruled that Aiyedatiwa failed to establish that the Federal High Court in Akure denied him a fair hearing when it exercised its .
The appellate court affirmed the Federal High Court’s ruling of November 24, 2025, which allowed amendment of the originating summons filed against the Ondo State governor by an APC chieftain, Dr. Akindele Egbuwalo.
Egbuwalo had approached the court in July 2025 seeking interpretation of Section 137(3) and Section 182(3) of the 1999 Constitution regarding Aiyedatiwa’s eligibility to contest again, having been sworn in twice—first in December 2023 to complete the tenure of the late Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, and again in February 2025 after winning the November 2024 governorship election.
The defendants, including Aiyedatiwa and INEC, had challenged the suit as premature and academic, arguing that no election timetable had been released and the governor had not declared interest
. However, the appellate court held that the trial judge rightly exercised her discretion in granting the amendment application.
Aiyedatiwa had previously stated he would leave the matter for the judiciary to decide, describing the suit as speculative and questioning why a sitting governor with constitutional immunity could be taken to court over a futuristic issue.
The Court of Appeal also dismissed an application by Aiyedatiwa seeking to set aside an order made on January 27, 2026, which stayed further proceedings in the suit before the Federal High Court
. The court awarded an additional N1 million in costs against the governor for that application.
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