S’court upholds judgement dismissing Agboola Ajayi’s suit against Aiyedatiwa

The supreme court has affirmed the judgment dismissing a suit filed by Agboola Ajayi, governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2024 Ondo election, against Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

A five-member panel of the apex court ruled on Tuesday, rejecting Ajayi’s appeal against the decision of the court of appeal.

The supreme court held that the Ajayi lacked the locus standi to challenge the nomination of Aiyedatiwa, the governor of Ondo state, as APC governorship candidate, and Olayide Adelami as his running mate, in the November 16, 2024 election.

THE CASE

Ajayi had approached the court to challenge the qualification of Adelami, citing inconsistency in the names on the certificates he submitted to INEC.

The PDP candidate, through his lawyer, M. Ndoka, told the court that Adelami is known by multiple and inconsistent names, including Adelami Owolabi Jackson and Olaide Owolabi Adelami.

Ajayi argued that the discrepancies rendered Adelami ineligible to contest the election.

He asked the court to disqualify the APC from contesting the election, arguing that the party did not have validly nominated governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the election.

However, Adelami’s counsel, Remi Olatubora, defended his client, stating that the variations were due to differences in name arrangements rather than a case of identity fraud.

He presented records showing that Adelami’s West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate from 1974 bore the name Adelami Owolabi Jackson, while his 1982 degree certificate from Ambrose Alli University listed him as Adelami Olaide Owolabi.

He said the grievance of the plaintiff is not about discrepancies in the name but the order or arrangements of the names.

Olatubora further argued that Ajayi had no right to bring the case, citing section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2022, which restricts such legal challenges to party members or participants in the APC primary election.

Ajayi’s case was first dismissed by a federal high court in Akure in December 2024.

The court of appeal in Akure struck out the suit in January 2025, affirming the lower court’s ruling.

With the supreme court’s decision, the legal challenge against Aiyedatiwa’s nomination has now come to an end.