Court Reserves Judgment on Eligibility of Ondo Deputy Governor-elect, Adelami

A Federal High Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has reserved judgment in a suit challenging the eligibility of Dr. Olaiyide Adelami, the Deputy Governor-elect of Ondo State, as the running mate to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa in the November 16 governorship election.

The case, which saw the presence of six Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), was filed by Hon. Agboola Ajayi, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the election, and the PDP itself. Ajayi is contesting Adelami’s qualification to run as the deputy governorship candidate under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ajayi’s counsel, M Ndoka, argued that Adelami should be disqualified due to discrepancies in his name, citing multiple conflicting names: “Adelami Owolabi Jackson” and “Olaide Owolabi Adelami.” Ajayi sought the disqualification of both Adelami and Governor-elect Aiyedatiwa from the election and asked for an order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from publishing their names or allowing them to participate in the election.

In response, Adelami’s counsel, Dr. Remi Olatubora, explained that the variations in Adelami’s name were due to documents from different periods—his 1974 West African Examination Council (WAEC) certificate bearing the name “Adelami Owolabi Jackson” and a 1982 degree certificate from Ambrose Alli University stating “Adelami Olaide Owolabi.” Olatubora contended that the plaintiffs’ grievance was based on the order of the names, not discrepancies, and argued that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to bring the case, as they were neither members of APC nor participants in the party’s primaries.

He further argued that the case was a pre-election matter and thus fell outside the jurisdiction of the court, adding that the suit was filed incorrectly via an originating summons instead of a writ of summons.

The presiding judge, Justice Toyin Adegoke, stated that a date for delivering the judgment will be communicated to the parties involved.