A Federal High Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has ruled that Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, is not eligible to contest the governorship election in 2028.
The case was instituted by an All Progressives Congress chieftain in the state, Dr. Akin Egbuwalo, who asked the court to interpret Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution regarding whether Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Dr. Olayide Adelami, would be qualified to seek another term in office.
The defendants in the suit included the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Ondo State Attorney General, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Aiyedatiwa, Adelami, and the All Progressives Congress.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, March 12, Justice Toyin Adegoke held that Aiyedatiwa would not be eligible to contest the 2028 governorship election. The court noted that Aiyedatiwa had already assumed office on December 27, 2023, following the death of the former governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, and later took the oath of office again on February 24, 2025, after winning the November 16, 2024 governorship election.
According to the judge, the 1999 Constitution, as amended, does not permit an elected president, vice president, governor, or deputy governor to remain in office for more than eight years. Justice Adegoke cited the Supreme Court decision in Marwa v. Nyako to support the position that no governor can lawfully exceed the constitutional eight-year limit.
The court further stated that the matter before it was neither speculative nor academic, stressing that it had the authority to interpret any provision of the constitution in the course of performing its constitutional duty.
Justice Adegoke also ruled that the legal processes filed by the third to fifth defendants were deemed abandoned because they did not participate during the hearing of the case. As a result, only the submissions of the plaintiff and the first and second defendants were considered.
The court held that allowing Aiyedatiwa to contest and potentially serve another four-year term would violate the principle established in Marwa v. Nyako, which limits governors and presidents to a maximum of eight years in office.
Consequently, the court found merit in the plaintiff’s arguments and granted all the reliefs sought.
Earlier in the proceedings, the Court of Appeal in Abuja had dismissed an appeal filed by Aiyedatiwa challenging a ruling of the Federal High Court in Akure concerning the suit on his eligibility for the next governorship election.
In a unanimous decision delivered by a three-member panel on March 9, 2026, the appellate court held that the trial court acted properly when it allowed the plaintiff, Dr. Egbuwalo, to amend his originating summons. Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, who delivered the lead judgment, ruled that Aiyedatiwa failed to demonstrate that the amendment caused any miscarriage of justice or violated his right to a fair hearing.
