Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has extended hands of fellowship to the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Agboola Ajayi, and other opponents who contested the November 16, 2024, governorship election with him.
The governor said there is no point wasting resources that could have been used for the empowerment of the people on litigation, describing suits against him as a mere distraction.
The Supreme Court had on Tuesday dismissed case number SC/CV/106/2025 filed by Ajayi and PDP against Olayide Owolabi Adelami and others and awarded costs of ₦2 million in favour of each respondent against the appellants.
The Supreme Court ruled that the appellants lacked the locus standi to pursue the case, rendering the appeal unsustainable.
Additionally, the court affirmed that the suit was statute-barred, upholding the decisions of the lower courts.
Ajayi had sought to nullify the election of Deputy Governor Olayide Owolabi Adelami over alleged discrepancies in his name change.
He also challenged the legitimacy of Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the case.
In his reaction to the judgment, Aiyedatiwa lauded the apex court for affirming the decisions of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal on his qualification and that of his Deputy for the last governorship election.
Aiyedatiwa, who spoke with journalists after returning to the embrace of his supporters who welcomed him with a funfair, said the judiciary has proven to be the last hope of the common man.
In his words, “We can get justice from the highest court of the land, the court upheld the concurrent judgment of the trial Court, and it shows that our judiciary system is doing great work.
“It was a concurrent judgment at the three levels of the High Court, Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court.”
“The judgment shows that the case that was taken before the court by the PDP is frivolous, and I am so happy that we have come to the end of that particular legal battle.
“I have always been telling them that we should save time and resources and let us work together for the state and empower the people rather than going through long litigation processes. They should join us and let us work together, and if they have any idea, they should bring it to the table so that those of us in government can utilize the idea for the development of the land.”
Aiyedatiwa described the suits against him and the deputy as a mere distraction as analysis by his counsel showed the opponents had no valid case against his electoral victory.
“All the explanation we are getting from the learned counsel which we believe show that at the end of the day justice will be served. This is because we are properly briefed, and we believe that the judges will do the right thing, and that is exactly what they have done.
“It shows that the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court are doing a good job in ensuring that democracy is upheld. The courts have consistently based their judgments on facts and the law, and this ruling is no different. From the analysis by the judiciary, it is clear that our party won the election convincingly, and this has now been reaffirmed at the highest level,” he said.
