Appeal Court dismisses suit challenging Aiyedatiwa, deputy’s eligibility for Ondo election

The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo state capital, has dismissed the appeal challenging the validity of the primary that produced Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last governorship election in the state.

The appeal filed by the candidate of the New Nigeria People (NNPP), Hon. Gbenga Edema, was dismissed by the court following the refusal of the plaintiff to obey the earlier order of the court.

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Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke, who presided over the court, said striking out the name of the NNPP as one of the plaintiffs rendered the suit impotent and consequently dismissed it.

In the verdict, the three-man appeal panel unanimously resolved all the issues formulated against Edema and consequently dismissed the appeal for abuse of court process and for lack of merit.

The court, however, awarded a fine of N1 m to each of the respondents, dismissing the appeal filed against the victory of Aiyedatiwa and his Deputy, Dr Olayide Adelami, at the November 16 governorship election in Ondo state.

It will be recalled that Edema had, through his lawyer, Mr. Abayomi Ojo, sought the court’s order to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the nomination and the publication of the names of Aiyedatiwa of APC and his deputy as candidates.

Edema, in a suit, asked the court to interpret the applicability of Section 15 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) over the nomination of the APC candidates.

The suit had Edema and NNPP as plaintiffs, just as it had Aiyedatiwa, Adelami, INEC, and All Progressives Congress (APC) as defendants.

Irked by the decision of the lower court, Edema headed to the appellate court, asking the court to invoke its power to assume jurisdiction as the trial court and also overturn the court’s decision that dismissed the suit.

At the hearing of the appeal, counsel to Edema, Abayomi Ojo represented the appellant while Prince Onwjeome stood in for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Johnson Samuel was the counsel of the APC.

Similarly, Adesoji Adedoyin the counsel of Aiyedatiwa, and Dr Remi Olatubora SAN represented the Deputy Governor, and SK Idowu was the lawyer to the NNPP.

All the lawyers to the respondents challenged the appeal for lacking merit. They also asked the court to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, and that the suit and appeal constituted an abuse of court process.

Reacting to the decision of the court, Olatubora SAN said the case filed by Edema constituted abuse of court process since a similar case had earlier been dismissed by the same appeal court.

Olatubora said, “Going forward, our system must be reformed in such a way that a suit like this one should never be permitted in the first instance.

“This is a case of an individual who contested the election as the candidate of NNPP and now came to court after the conclusion of the election to challenge Aiyedatiwa, who was declared the winner of the election on the platform of APC.

“I feel that our law should not allow this kind of suit, and you can imagine the amount of time we have expended in litigating this case at the Federal High Court and subsequently at the Court of Appeal.

“The joy of it is that justice has been done and the case has been dismissed with a cost of N1 million to each respondent.”

Similarly, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo SAN, who witnessed the hearing and judgment of the suit, saluted the industry and courage of the judges, saying he agreed with the decision of the court.

Ajulo said, ” One cannot but salute the industry and courage of the judges. I was in the court from the beginning to the end. You can see the erudition and the research that can sum up the judgment.

“On the judgment, I think we will need to first see this as another reaffirmation of the mandate of the people reposed on the governor of the state, Dr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa.

“We have been saying it; the 18–0 is not a fluke, and this has been reaffirmed again. One just needs to salute the courage of the whole people of this state. Both the appellant and the respondent are citizens of this state.

“I have been saying this: there must be an end to this litigation; the people have spoken, and they spoke clearly. Using any other means, running from pillar to post, will not help; we belong to the same family, and we need to come together.

“What we should be discussing now is to see how we can move Ondo State forward, not with this endless litigation. Going further is a waste of time.”

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