Ondo Guber: Supreme Court quashes PDP Appeal
By Ndukaku Ihe
Governor Aiyedatiwa
The legal fireworks trailing the last Ondo governorship election have finally ended as the Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Agboola Ajayi.
The PDP candidate in the election had challenged the validity of the joint ticket of Lucky Aitedatiwa and his running mate, Olayide Adelami.
A five-member panel of the apex court led by Justice Mohammed Garba, in a unanimous judgment Tuesday, held that the appeal was without merit and that the appellants lacked the locus standi to query Adelami’s nomination.
The court awarded a cost of N8million against the PDP and Ajayi, at N2m each for the four respondents – Adelami, Aitedatiwa, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The PDP and Ajayi had claimed that Adelami presented forged West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate to INEC and that he equally possessed multiple identities.
They had prayed the court to hold that Adelami was not qualified to contest the election by virtue of the alleged forged certificate and asked it to void the joint ticket on which Aitedatiwa and Adelami contested the election on the platform of the APC.
In the tensed governorship poll, Aiyedatiwa defeated his closest rival, Mr Agboola Ajayi of the PDP, securing 366,781 votes to Ajayi’s 117,845. The APC clinched victory in all 18 local government areas of the state.
