Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has criticised the ruling of a Federal High Court in Akure restraining him from seeking another term in office, describing the decision as premature and a distraction from governance.
Aiyedatiwa spoke on Thursday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
The governor said discussions about the 2028 off-cycle governorship election were unnecessary at this stage, noting that he had only recently secured a fresh mandate from voters in the state.
“This is too early. Why don’t you wait till 2027 or when the off-cycle timetable will be out in early 2028? Maybe at that time, I might begin to think, wait a minute, do I have the right to contest or not?
“At that time, one can begin to seek interpretation of some of these clauses in the constitution,” he said.
Aiyedatiwa said his focus remained on delivering the mandate given to him in the November 16, 2024 governorship election.
“I went into a free and fair, conclusive election, which I won on the 16th of November 2024, so it is still fresh. I have never thought about any other election other than delivering on the mandate that has been given to me.
“Future elections were not in my mind at all because you have to go step by step, stage by stage,” he stated.
The governor added that although he was aware of the constitutional provision limiting a governor’s tenure to eight years, he had not begun considering how it might apply to him.
“I know the constitutional provision of eight years, but I have not even gone into that because I just won an election. All I was occupied with was to govern and deliver the dividends of democracy to the people until somebody woke up and began to challenge it,” he said.
He also described the suit as a distraction following the political challenges he had faced.
“You ask how I feel. I feel the same way. This distraction will be put to rest because it is a whole lot of distraction for me, having gone through election and survived impeachment,” he added.
Responding to insinuations surrounding the suit, Aiyedatiwa dismissed claims that he was engaged in a political witch-hunt or forcing members out of the All Progressives Congress.
According to him, the party remains dominant in Ondo State, adding that politics is ultimately “a game of numbers.”
Earlier on Thursday, a Federal High Court sitting in Akure ruled that the governor would be ineligible to contest for another term in office in 2028.
The suit was filed by a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Akin Egbuwalo, who asked the court to interpret Section 137(3) of the Constitution regarding the eligibility of Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Olayide Adelami, to contest for another term.
The defendants in the suit included the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Aiyedatiwa, Adelami and the APC.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Toyin Adegoke, the court held that Aiyedatiwa would be ineligible to stand for election in 2028, having been sworn in on December 27, 2023, to complete the tenure of the late governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, and subsequently inaugurated on February 24, 2025, after winning the November 16, 2024, governorship election.
The judge declared that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) does not permit an elected president, vice-president, governor or deputy governor to spend more than eight years in office.
The court relied on the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Marwa v. Nyako.
Credit: punchng.com
