Ondo Election: Federal High Court Dismisses PDP’s Suit Challenging Qualification of APC Candidates

• The court has held that Agboola Ajayi, the PDP candidate in the Ondo election, lacked the legal right to challenge the eligibility of Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his running mate, Olaiyide Adelami
• The court ruled in favour of the APC candidates in Ondo, dismissing the suit filed by the PDP over alleged name discrepancies
• Ajayi, the former deputy governor of Ondo state, was defeated by Aiyedatiwa, who emerged as the winner of the November 2024 gubernatorial election

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

The Federal High Court, Akure division, has dismissed the suit challenging the qualifications of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the November governorship election held in the Ondo state.

The presiding judge, while delivering judgement in a suit filed by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon Agboola Ajayi, challenging the qualification of the APC’s candidates, declared that it lacked locus standi to file the suit.

Read also

APC members reject PDP defectors in Ondo, give reason

The judge also held that the case filed by Ajayi and his party, the PDP, was statute-barred and the court lacked jurisdiction to hear it, having filed through originating summons instead of a Writ of Summons.

According to her, the suit was filed outside the 14 days required by the Electoral Act.

Olatubora stated:

“The plaintiffs lack the locus standi to file the suit or seek the reliefs set out in the originating summons. The suit, as a matter of law, does not qualify as a pre-election matter, and this court lacks jurisdiction.”

Why did Agboola Ajayi sue Aiyedatiwa's running mate

Legit.ng reported that Lucky Aiyedatiwa was declared the winner of the poll after gathering 366,781 votes, while PDP's Agboola Ajayi scored 117, 845 votes to come second.

Through his counsel, M Ndoka, SAN, Ajayi had challenged the eligibility of Adelami to contest as the deputy governorship candidate on the platform of APC.

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BREAKING: Court gives verdict on PDP’s suspension of national vice chairman

The PDP candidate, in his originating summons, said the first defendant, the deputy governorship candidate, Adelami, is known by multiple conflicting and irreconcilable names of Adelami Owolabi Jackson and Olaide Owolabi Adelami.

Ndoka, therefore, sought the disqualification of APC from the ballot due to the conflicting names.

The Guardian confirmed the development in its publication on Monday.

Read more about Ondo state post-election articles here:

• APC members reject PDP defectors in Ondo, give reason
• “Prepare to host T-Pain till 2031”: How APC secured Aiyedatiwa’s victory, PDP chieftain speaks

PDP chieftain reacts to Aiyedatiwa's win

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a prominent chieftain of the PDP, Segun Showunmi, congratulated Governor Aiyedatiwa on his win.

The chieftain, whose statement was shared on social media, also extended words of encouragement to PDP candidate Ajayi.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng