The Court of Appeal in Abuja has rejected an appeal by Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa concerning a November 24, 2025, ruling from the Federal High Court in Akure that challenges his eligibility for the upcoming governorship election.
In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel determined that the lower court acted correctly in allowing the plaintiff, Akindele Egbuwalo, leave to amend his originating summons.
Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, delivering the lead judgment, stated that the governor “failed to establish that the trial judge’s decision caused him injustice or denied him the right to a fair hearing.”
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Consequently, the appellate court dismissed the appeal for lacking merit and ordered the governor to pay “₦2 million in costs.”
In a related development, the court also threw out an application by Aiyedatiwa intended to overturn a January 27, 2026, order that had paused proceedings at the Federal High Court in Akure.
The Court of Appeal clarified that this stay “did not arrest the trial court’s judgment” but was instead a “lawful exercise of the appellate court’s jurisdiction to protect the integrity of its proceedings.”
The court emphasized that because the appeal had already been entered and records filed, it acted appropriately to “preserve the res and prevent its proceedings from being rendered nugatory.”
The panel further noted that reversing its own January 27 order would essentially mean the court was “sitting on appeal over its own decision,” advising that the governor’s only legal path forward on that matter is to “appeal to the Supreme Court.”
For filing the application to set the order aside, the court imposed an additional penalty, awarding “₦1 million in costs against the governor.”
