A Federal High Court in Akure, Ondo State, has dismissed a suit that challenged the eligibility of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the recent governorship election.
The case, brought by Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), contested the qualifications of APC’s governorship candidate, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and his running mate, Olaiyide Adelami.
Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke, presiding over the case, ruled that Ajayi lacked the legal standing, or locus standi, to file the suit.
The court also found that the case was statute-barred, having been filed outside the 14-day limit specified in the Electoral Act. Additionally, the suit was improperly filed via an originating summons rather than a Writ of Summons.
Ajayi’s legal team had argued that Adelami’s qualifications were in question due to discrepancies in his name.
Ajayi claimed that Adelami was known by conflicting names, such as Adelami Owolabi Jackson and Olaide Owolabi Adelami, and sought to disqualify both Adelami and Aiyedatiwa.
He also requested an order preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from publishing their names or allowing their participation in the election.
Defending the candidates, Dr. Remi Olatubora SAN, counsel for Adelami, explained that Adelami’s multiple names were a result of different official records, with one name appearing on a 1974 WAEC certificate and another on a 1982 degree certificate from Ambrose Alli University.
Olatubora emphasized that the dispute was not about the names themselves, but about their arrangement.
Olatubora further argued that Ajayi and his legal team did not have the right to challenge the qualifications of the APC candidates, as they were not participants in the party’s primaries, as required by Section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2022.
In its ruling, the court agreed with Olatubora’s arguments, stating that the case did not meet the criteria for a pre-election matter and that Ajayi’s PDP team lacked standing to bring the case.
Justice Adegoke also noted that the issue of certificate forgery and perjury raised by Ajayi was a criminal matter, which required evidence from the authorities that issued the certificates in question.
The court agreed that only those directly involved in the party primaries have the legal right to challenge the qualifications of candidates.
As a result, the court dismissed the suit, affirming that the APC candidates, Aiyedatiwa and Adelami, remained qualified for the 2024 governorship election.
