Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu’s victory in the October 10, 2020 governorship election in Ondo State was on Wednesday upheld by the Supreme Court sitting in Abuja, in a split decision of four to three.
Justice Mary Peter-Odili led the seven-member panel of justices of the apex court.
Justice Emmanuel Agim delivered the majority judgment of four of the seven-member panel which dismissed the appeal by Eyitayo Jegede and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the grounds that it was incompetent since they did not include Yobe Governor and Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the APC, Mai Mala Buni in their case.
Justice Odili and two other members of the panel had in their minority judgment opined that since the APC, for which Buni acted, was a party in the case, there was no need to include him as a party.
Meanwhile, Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has applauded the decision of the Supreme Court saying from the Tribunal to the Supreme Court, twelve judges have ruled in his favour and three against him.
In a statement on Wednesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde, the Governor expressed gratitude to the Judiciary for not succumbing to any influence.
He said: “I have every reason to thank God and appreciate the judiciary for not yielding to any influence. We can still be proud of our judiciary. The glory of this election petition success is to God Almighty.
“I want to thank the legal team that has represented us. My team, led by Chief Akin Olujimi and other wonderful lawyers for their wonderful work. We thank the INEC team, Charles Edosanwa, SAN; APC team, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Sola Oke and other eminent lawyers.”
