Governor Aiyedatiwa’s Bid to Re-Write Eligibility Defense Fails as Court Blocks ‘Last-Minute’ Changes to Election Suit

Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has hit a major judicial speed bump in his quest to permanently clear the clouds over his governorship. On Tuesday, March 10, 2026, the Court of Appeal in Akure rejected the Governor’s application to amend his defense in a high-stakes suit challenging his eligibility to have contested the 2024 election.

The case, which refuses to stay in the past, centers on a constitutional debate: whether Aiyedatiwa’s time as Acting Governor and his subsequent swearing-in after the death of his predecessor, Rotimi Akeredolu, barred him from seeking another term. While the Governor’s team had hoped to introduce “fresh perspectives” and new witness accounts to bolster their argument that his current term is a fresh mandate, the appellate court has now effectively said “enough is enough.”

The “State of Harmony” within the Governor’s legal camp was tested as the justices ruled that Aiyedatiwa cannot “flip the script” this late in the game. By dismissing his appeal to amend the suit, the court maintained that allowing new evidence now would be unfair to the original plaintiffs and would drag the legal process out indefinitely.

Though Aiyedatiwa’s victory at the polls was affirmed by the Supreme Court last year, this specific pre-election matter remains one of the few remaining “legal ghosts” of the 2024 primary season. Legal observers note that while the Governor remains firmly in the Alausa Government House, the inability to update his defense means his legal team must now fight the final rounds of this constitutional battle using only their original, un-amended arguments. For now, the “Luck” in Aiyedatiwa’s name faces its toughest test in the courtroom.