Ondo Court Reserves Judgment in Certificate Dispute

|By Adejumo Adekunle –

The Federal High Court in Akure, Ondo State, has reserved judgment in a case filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Agboola Ajayi, challenging the eligibility of Olayide Adelami, the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), over alleged certificate discrepancies.

Ajayi alleged that Adelami’s academic credentials bore inconsistent names, including “Adelami Owolabi Jackson” and “Adelami Olaide Owolabi,” which he claimed rendered him ineligible to contest the election. Through his counsel, M. Ndoka SAN, Ajayi sought to disqualify both Adelami and APC governorship candidate Lucky Aiyedatiwa, requesting the court to nullify their nominations.

In response, Adelami’s counsel, Remi Olatubora, argued that the name variations were due to arrangement differences, not fraudulent intent, citing certificates from 1974 and 1982 as examples. He also claimed the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to file the case and questioned its filing process.

Justice Toyin Adegoke adjourned the matter, stating that a judgment date would be announced later.