Court Dismisses Suit Challenging Aiyedatiwa Deputy’s Candidacy In Ondo Governorship Election

Olayide Adelami

A suit seeking to disqualify Olayide Adelami as the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 16 Ondo gubernatorial polls, has been dismissed by the Federal High Court sitting in Akure.

The judgment, delivered on Monday by Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke, resolved all issues in favour of the defendants.

The suit, filed by Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alleged that Adelami’s candidacy was invalid due to discrepancies in his name.

Ajayi claimed Adelami was known by conflicting names, including Adelami Owolabi Jackson and Olaide Owolabi Adelami, and sought his disqualification on that basis.

However, Justice Adegoke ruled that Ajayi lacked the locus standi to institute the case, as he was neither a member of the APC nor an aspirant in the APC primaries that produced Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa and Adelami as the party’s candidates.

In her judgment, Justice Adegoke also held that the suit was statute-barred, as it was filed outside the 14-day window required by the Electoral Act.

Furthermore, the court ruled that the case was filed improperly through an originating summons instead of a Writ of Summons, rendering it incompetent.

“The plaintiffs have no legal right to challenge the qualification of the second defendant (Adelami) under Section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2022,” Justice Adegoke stated, adding that Ajayi’s party could not contest the APC’s internal processes.

Defending Adelami, his counsel, Dr. Remi Olatubora, explained that the discrepancies in Adelami’s names were due to different name arrangements on his academic certificates.

Olatubora noted that Adelami’s 1974 WAEC certificate bore the name Adelami Owolabi Jackson, while his degree from Ambrose Alli University in 1982 read Adelami Olaide Owolabi.