KEY POINTS

• Nigeria’s Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s appeal Monday and ordered him to pay N2 million in costs.
• The court ruled that Aiyedatiwa failed to show the Federal High Court denied him a fair hearing when it allowed the plaintiff to amend his suit.
• The underlying eligibility case, which questions whether Aiyedatiwa can legally run again in 2028, remains active at the Federal High Court in Akure.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja dealt Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa a legal setback Monday, dismissing his appeal in a case that could ultimately decide whether he is constitutionally permitted to seek another term in office.

A three-member panel delivered a unanimous judgment rejecting the governor’s challenge to a Federal High Court ruling that allowed the plaintiff to amend his originating summons. The appellate court found that Aiyedatiwa had not established that the lower court’s decision caused him any injustice or violated his right to a fair hearing.

“The appellant failed to show that the amendment occasioned any miscarriage of justice,” Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam said in the lead judgment. The court dismissed the appeal for lacking merit and ordered Aiyedatiwa to pay N2 million in costs.

How the Case Got Here

The dispute traces back to July 2025, when Akindele Egbuwalo, an All Progressives Congress chieftain in Ondo State, filed a suit asking the court to interpret Section 182(3) of the 1999 Constitution. The provision bars any governor sworn in to complete another person’s term from seeking more than one additional term.

Aiyedatiwa was first sworn in on Dec. 27, 2024, following the death of former Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. He was sworn in a second time on Feb. 24, 2025, after winning the November 2024 governorship election. Egbuwalo argues that two oaths of office effectively disqualify the governor from running again in 2028.

Governor’s Aiyedatiwa Camp Says the Real Fight Is Still Ahead

Aiyedatiwa’s Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, was quick to frame Monday’s ruling as procedural rather than decisive. “The main case is still in court. This was just an appeal on an amendment to the main case,” Adeniyan said.

The Court of Appeal also threw out a separate application filed by the governor seeking to vacate a Jan. 27, 2026, order that had paused proceedings at the Federal High Court. The panel ruled that overturning its own valid order would amount to sitting in appeal over itself, and pointed Aiyedatiwa toward the Supreme Court if he wished to challenge that decision.

Aiyedatiwa has not publicly declared any intention to contest the 2028 election. That question, and its constitutional answer, now moves back to the Federal High Court in Akure.