The Federal High Court in Akure, Ondo State, has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the qualifications of Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Olayide Adelami, both of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the state’s November 16 governorship election.
The suit was filed by Agboola Ajayi, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the election, through his counsel, M. Ndoka (SAN).
Delivering the judgment, Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke ruled that the plaintiff, Agboola Ajayi, lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to file the suit.
She also stated that the case was time-barred, as it was filed beyond the 14-day limit prescribed by the Electoral Act.
Furthermore, Justice Adegoke held that the suit, filed through an originating summons rather than a Writ of Summons, was improperly brought before the court, which meant the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
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In his originating summons, Ajayi had argued that the APC’s deputy governorship candidate, Olayide Adelami, used conflicting names in official records—”Adelami Owolabi Jackson” in his 1974 West African Examination Council (WAEC) result and “Olaide Owolabi Adelami” in his 1982 degree certificate from Ambrose Alli University. Ajayi contended that these discrepancies should disqualify both Adelami and Aiyedatiwa from the election.
Ajayi sought a declaration that the APC had not validly nominated candidates for governor and deputy governor and asked the court to disqualify the defendants from participating in the election.
He also sought an order to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from publishing their names or allowing them to contest.
However, Remi Olatubora (SAN), counsel for Adelami, explained that the names in question were not contradictory but simply appeared in different orders. He pointed out that the WAEC result from 1974 used “Adelami Owolabi Jackson,” while the degree certificate from Ambrose Alli University in 1982 used “Adelami Olaide Owolabi.”
Olatubora further argued that the plaintiffs had no legal right to challenge the APC candidates’ qualifications under Section 29(5) of the Electoral Act, as they were not members of the APC and did not participate in the party’s primaries that selected Aiyedatiwa and Adelami as its candidates.
Other defense counsels—Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) for Governor Aiyedatiwa, Ebun Adegboruwa (SAN) for the APC, and Charles Edosan (SAN) for INEC—supported Olatubora’s position, asserting that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the suit and that the case was not a valid pre-election matter.
Justice Adegoke ruled that issues regarding certificate forgery and perjury were criminal matters that would require evidence from the authorities that issued the contested certificates.
She emphasized that under Section 29 of the Electoral Act, only those directly involved in the primaries or elections had the legal right to challenge the qualifications of candidates.
Consequently, the court declared that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case and dismissed it, resolving all issues in favor of the defendants.
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