The Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has withdrawn a lawsuit he filed to prevent his impeachment by the Ondo State House of Assembly. Previously, Aiyedatiwa had sought an interim injunction to prevent Governor Akeredolu and others from harassing, intimidating, embarrassing, or obstructing him from performing his duties as the Deputy Governor of Ondo State. The court had granted this request, and the matter was scheduled for a substantive hearing on Monday. However, during Monday’s hearing at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the decision to withdraw the suit was announced.
The lawsuit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1294/2023, named several defendants, including the Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu; the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Bamidele Oloyelogun; the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Oluwatoyin Akeredolu; the House of Assembly itself; the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba; and the Department of State Services.
Aiyedatiwa’s lawyer, Mr. Ebun-olu Adegboruwa (SAN), informed the court that his client wished to withdraw the suit due to the intervention of the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC). According to Adegboruwa, the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, had established a reconciliation committee on October 6, 2023, to mediate the ongoing dispute among the parties involved in the suit.
He argued that proceeding with the court case at this time could potentially hinder the reconciliation efforts led by the APC leadership.
During the court proceedings, it was mentioned that on October 3, 2023, the Ondo State House of Assembly submitted a petition against the presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, to the National Judicial Council (NJC). Consequently, one of the lawyers representing the parties involved, Mr. Adegboruwa, requested that the court postpone the case until the NJC delivers its decision on the petition.
However, the lawyers representing the Ondo State Governor, Kazeem Gbadamosi (SAN), and the Chief Judge of Ondo State, Mutalib Ojo (SAN), objected to the request and urged the court to proceed with the case. Femi Emodamori, counsel for the Ondo State House of Assembly, stated that the Assembly had already withdrawn its petition against Justice Nwite.
Justice Nwite adjourned the case until October 6, when a ruling on the matter is expected.