The Ibadan Judicial Division of the Court of Appeal has upheld the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo Federal Constituency by-election held on August 16, 2025, dismissing the appeal filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The appellate court also awarded a cost of ₦5 million in favour of the APC candidate, Hon. Adesola Elegbeji.
During proceedings on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, counsel to Hon. Elegbeji, Mrs. Olayemi Badewole, SAN, and counsel to the APC, Dr. Remi Olatubora, SAN, raised preliminary objections challenging the competence of the SDP’s appeal. They argued that the appellant, Ayoola Adesola, failed to transmit a complete record of appeal to the court, including the pre-hearing report of the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal, thereby denying the appellate court jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
Counsel to the SDP, Mr. Adewole Adebayo, offered no explanation for the omission, prompting the court to dismiss the appeal.
This decision follows the earlier ruling by the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in November 2025, which struck out the SDP petition for lack of diligent prosecution after repeated absence of its witness.
With the Court of Appeal’s ruling, the victory of Hon. Elegbeji in the August 2025 by-election remains intact, bringing finality to the electoral dispute.
