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The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has dismissed the appeal filed by the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party in the November 16, 2024, governorship election in Ondo State, Olugbenga Edema, against the victory of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Dr Olayide Adelami.
Edema had earlier approached the Federal High Court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission to remove the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Aiyedatiwa, and his running mate, Adelami, from the list of candidates that contested the poll.
He also asked the court to interpret the application 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 candidate. However, the court struck out the case.
Not satisfied with the outcome of the lower court, Edema approached the appellate court to challenge the high court’s verdict.
In the judgement delivered by the appeal court on Wednesday, Justice Oyebisi Omoleye affirmed the judgement of the Federal High Court.
In the verdict, the three-man appeal court 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 also awarded a fine of N1 million to each of the respondents.
In his reaction to the judgement, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo SAN, lauded the 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 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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