The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by Lucky Aiyedatiwa contesting a ruling by the Federal High Court in Akure in a case questioning his eligibility to contest another governorship election.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel, the appellate court ruled that the lower court acted properly when it granted a request by the plaintiff, Akindele Egbuwalo, to amend his originating summons.
Egbuwalo, a member of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, had approached the Federal High Court seeking an interpretation of Section 137(3) of the constitution regarding whether Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Olayide Adelami, are eligible to contest another term in office.
On November 24, 2025, Justice Toyin Adegoke of the Federal High Court in Akure approved the plaintiff’s request to amend the legal documents initiating the suit.
Aiyedatiwa challenged the ruling at the Court of Appeal, arguing that the decision violated his constitutional right to fair hearing and that the trial judge had exceeded her authority by assuming jurisdiction.
Following his appeal, the Court of Appeal initially ordered the Akure High Court to suspend proceedings in the case, which was already awaiting judgment. The matter was later moved to the Abuja division of the appellate court.
Delivering the lead judgment on Monday, Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam stated that the governor failed to demonstrate that the lower court’s decision caused any miscarriage of justice or denied him a fair hearing.
The court therefore dismissed the appeal for lacking merit and ordered Aiyedatiwa to pay ₦2 million as costs. The ruling also upheld the earlier decision of the Federal High Court permitting Egbuwalo to amend his originating summons in the eligibility suit.
Earlier in the proceedings, the appellate court had also rejected another application by the governor seeking to set aside an order issued on January 27, 2026, which had paused proceedings in the case at the Federal High Court.
The judges explained that the order to stay proceedings was lawful and intended to preserve the integrity of the appeal process, rather than to stop the trial court from delivering judgment permanently.
According to the panel, the appeal had already been formally entered, records compiled, and legal briefs filed when the order was issued. As a result, the decision was necessary to prevent the appeal from becoming meaningless.
The court further stated that asking it to overturn the order would amount to requesting that it review its own decision, which is not permitted. It advised the governor that the appropriate step would be to challenge the ruling before the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
The panel consequently ordered the governor to pay an additional ₦2 million in costs.
Reacting to the judgment, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, said the ruling does not determine the main issue of whether Aiyedatiwa can contest the 2028 governorship election. He explained that the substantive case remains pending before the Federal High Court in Akure.
Aiyedatiwa first assumed office on December 27, 2024, after the death of former governor Rotimi Akeredolu, completing the remainder of his tenure.
He was later sworn in again on February 24, 2025, after winning the governorship election held on November 16, 2024.
Although the governor has not formally declared his intention to contest again, Egbuwalo filed the suit in July 2025, arguing that Aiyedatiwa would be ineligible to run in 2028 because he has already taken the oath of office twice.
The plaintiff asked the court to interpret Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, which states that a person who assumes the office of president to complete another person’s term can only be elected for one additional term.
Similarly, Section 182(3) of the constitution provides that anyone sworn in as governor to complete another official’s tenure cannot be elected to the same office for more than one further term.
