The Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State, has barred Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa from seeking another term in office as the state governor.
Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke in a judgment delivered on Thursday said the 1999 constitution as amended did not provide for an elected President, Vice President, Governor, and Deputy to spend more than eight years in office.
Aiyedatiwa, who was inaugurated on Decmber 27, 2024 to complete the tenure of Late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu , was again sworn in again on February 24, 2025, following his victory in the November 16, 2024 governorship election.
Thefrontrank reports that a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Akin Egbuwalo has dragged the governor, his Deputy, Dr. Olayide Adelami, and the ruling party to court over the eligibility of Aiyedatiwa to contest for another term in office.
The court ruled that allowing the governor to contest again would go contrary to the constitutional provision on tenure.
Justice Toyin Adegoke, in her judgment, said that the Nigeria’s Constitution does not permit an elected president, vice president, governor, or deputy governor to remain in office for more than eight years.
She declared that allowing Aiyedatiwa to contest and win another term, he would exceed the maximum constitutional limit.
“If the third defendant(Aiyedatiwa) is allowed to contest and serve another four years, that will be against the position of the law as established in Marwa versus Nyako, where the Supreme Court held that a president or governor cannot serve beyond eight years,” she declared.
Egbuwalo, through his counsel, Mr Adeniyi Akintola, SAN, asked the court to interpret Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution as it relates to the eligibility of Aiyedatiwa to seek re-election.
He listed the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), the Attorney-General of the Federation, and Minister of Justice, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, Aiyedatiwa, APC, and the deputy governor, Mr Olayide Adelami as defendants.
Justice Adegoke noted in her judgment that the processes filed by the third to fifth defendants were deemed abandoned because they failed to participate in the hearing of the suit.
According to her, only the submissions of the plaintiff and the first and second defendants were considered.
The judge subsequently dismissed the objection raised by the first defendant, ruling that the suit was neither speculative nor academic.
“This court finds that the action filed by the plaintiff discloses a valid cause of action and cannot be dismissed as speculative or academic.
“Whenever a court is invited to interpret any provision of the Constitution, the court has the inherent jurisdiction to hear and determine such a matter because the court itself is a creation of law and must uphold the Constitution at all times.
“This court possesses the inherent jurisdiction to interpret provisions of the constitution whenever such interpretation is sought.
“Having found merit in the arguments presented by the plaintiff, the court granted all the reliefs sought in the suit, effectively restraining the third defendant from seeking another term in office,” she said.
