ADC Heads to Supreme Court Over Aiyedatiwa’s Appeal Court Victory

The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State, on Thursday affirmed the electoral victory of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Dr. Olayide Adelami, in the November 16, 2024, governorship election.

However, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr. Adeyemi Nejo, has expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment and declared the party’s intention to approach the Supreme Court to seek redress.

“The dismissal of the ADC’s appeal by the Court of Appeal is not the end of the road for us. We will exercise our constitutional right to appeal to the Supreme Court, as provided under Section 233 (2)(e)(iv) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended,” Nejo said.

He expressed optimism that the Supreme Court would give thorough consideration to the party’s petition, which he said was based on alleged irregularities and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022 during the election and the subsequent declaration of Aiyedatiwa as governor.

The Director of Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Leye Igbabo, reacting to the verdict, said the party would review the judgment before deciding on its next course of action.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Aiyedatiwa, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), winner of the poll with 366,781 votes, ahead of candidates from other parties.

In addition to the PDP, the Social Democratic Party, Action Alliance, Allied Peoples’ Movement, and the ADC had all filed petitions at the state election petitions tribunal, contesting the outcome of the election. The parties alleged widespread electoral malpractices and irregularities across multiple polling units.

On June 4, 2025, the tribunal dismissed the petitions, citing non-compliance with electoral procedures. Dissatisfied, the parties approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the tribunal’s decision.

In its judgment delivered on Thursday, the three-member appellate panel consisting of Justices Nimpar Yargata, K.I. Amadi, and I.M. Sani, unanimously dismissed the appeals for lack of merit. The court held that the appellants failed to substantiate their claims of electoral irregularities and did not demonstrate how the alleged non-compliance affected results across polling units, wards, or local government areas.

The court further ruled that the appellants abandoned their cases, having failed to present credible witnesses at the tribunal to back their claims of widespread irregularities.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal upheld the decisions of the tribunal in all the cases and reaffirmed Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Olayide Adelami as the duly elected governor and deputy governor of Ondo State. A cost of ₦1.5 million was awarded against the appellants.

In his reaction, Governor Aiyedatiwa welcomed the ruling, commending the justices for their thorough and unanimous judgments. He expressed gratitude to the people of Ondo State and reiterated that the judgment was a confirmation of the popular will.

“I give glory to Almighty God who has guided us through this journey and used the good people of Ondo State. Over 366,000 residents gave us their mandate on November 16 last year. That mandate was validated by the tribunal and has now been reaffirmed by the Appeal Court,” he said.

He added that while some political parties attempted to overturn the people’s decision through litigation, the judiciary had once again fulfilled its responsibility by upholding the choice of the majority of voters across the 18 local government areas of the state.