Supreme Court in a unanimous Judgment has sacked Emeka Ihedioha as Governor of Imo State, declares Hope Uzodinma winner and orders INEC to issue Uzodinma certificate of return.

A seven-man panel of the apex court in its decison held that Ihedioha did not win majority of votes cast at the March 9, 2019 governorship elections.

In the Judgment delivered by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the court accordingly ordered the INEC to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Ihedioha and issue a fresh Certificate of Return to the candidate of the APC on grounds that he won majority of the lawful votes cast at the election.

The court also ordered the immediate swearing in of Uzodinma as lawful winner of the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Imo State.

The apex court held that the lower court erred in law when it rejected evidence tendered before them to the extent that votes from 388 polling units were not credited to APC and Hope Uzodinma.

Kekere-Ekun said with the result from the 388 polling units, the APC governorship candidate polled majority lawful vote and ought to have been declared winner of the election by INEC.

The judgment set aside the judgment of the Imo election petition tribunal and that of the Court of Appeal both of which had refused to recognise and accept the votes of the 388 polling units as being unlawfully excluded in the general collation.

Uzodinma and APC had in their appeal pleaded with the apex court to review the judgment of the two lower courts against them and restore their victory in the March 9 governorship election.

The Apex court struck struck out the appeal against the election of Ihedioha filed by Uche Nwosu the governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) in the March 2019 election.

The Justices struck out the appeal following an oral application for withdrawal by counsel to the appeallant, Solomon Umoh SAN.

Nwosu and his party, AA are among three candidates seeking the nullification of Ihedioha’s election on allegations of malpractices and non compliance with the electoral laws during the March 9 governorship election in Imo State.

However, when the matter was called, lawyer to the appeallants, Chief Solomon Umoh informed the court that based on the decision of the apex court delivered on December 20, 2019 that his client was not qualified to participate in the March 9 governorship election in Imo State, he advised them that the appeal be withdrawn.

Umoh accordingly moved for the withdrawal of the appeal.

When the withdrawal of appeal was no opposed by respondents in the appeal, the presiding Justice, accordingly ruled, “Appeal having been withdrawn is hereby struck out”.

All Progressives Congress (APC) says it is ecstatic over the Supreme Court’s declaration of Mr Hope Uzodinma as the rightful winner of the 2019 Imo state governorship election.

The party said this in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Issa-Onilu said: “Even as we are still wondering why we lost elections we clearly won in Zamfara at the Supreme Court and how the same court ruled our party out of the electoral race in Rivers, we have never, as a political party, lost faith in the judiciary.

“We salute Sen. Hope Uzodinma, our supporters and members for their temperance displayed in the aftermath of the blatant rigging of the Imo governorship election.

“We chose to focus on the judicial route to reclaim the party’s mandate. We are confident that our other stolen electoral mandates will be restored by the courts.”

The party’s spokesman called on all Imo State APC stakeholders to come together in support of Uzodinma to ensure the success of the party’s next level agenda and to democratically entrench the APC in the state and entire South East.

He said that the apex court on Tuesday annulled the election of Emeka Ihedioha and asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately issue certificate of return to Sen. Uzodinma.

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has congratulated Senator Hope Uzodinma on his victory at the Supreme Court which on Tuesday declared him the winner of the March 19, 2019 Imo State governorship election.

Lawan also congratulated the All Progressives Party (APC) in the state for peacefully retrieving its mandate through the constitutionally stipulated judicial process.

The Senate President said the unanimous decision of the seven-member panel of the highest court in the land has cleared any doubt on the victory of the APC in the election.

“This is a victory for democracy, the rule of law, the All Progressives Congress and the good people of Imo State.

“The new Governor-elect should be magnanimous in victory and see his mandate as a call to serve his people conscientiously and to the best of his ability,” Lawan said.

The Senate President wished the governor-elect a successful tenure in office.

He also praised the Nigerian Judiciary for reasserting itself as a sacred chapel for judicious resolution of disputes.

Minister of State, Labour & Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has described the victory of Hope Uzodinma at the Supreme Court as “judicial neutrality at its very best,” adding that it was necessary to mention it before bad losers begin to cry foul & change the narrative.

Keyamo tweeted, “The same revered & exalted Supreme Court of Nigeria that nullified APC’s victory in Zamfara State has affirmed the victory of APC in Imo State. That is judicial neutrality at its VERY BEST. I quickly dropped this here before our usual bad losers begin to cry foul & change the narrative.”

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed surprise at the judgment of the Supreme Court on the Imo state governorship election, describing it as ‘yet another very sad commentary on Nigeria’s democratic order’.

PDP, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the PDP and Nigerians were still at a loss as to understand the basis upon which the court arrived at its decision.

Ologbondiyan said that the PDP found it difficult to understand how Uzodinma/APC, who came 4th in the governorship election, with just 96,458 votes, would suddenly, by the token of the judgment of the Supreme Court, defeat Ihedioha/PDP that scored 276,404 votes.

“In fact, the PDP and indeed, most Nigerians are still at a loss as to understand the basis upon which the Supreme Court arrived at its decision.”

He said it was lamentable that the destiny of the people of Imo was being taken from the governor they chose and voted for, and handed over to individuals and a political party that did not have the people’s blessing and mandate.

“The people of Imo state are now confronted with the challenge of having a government that they cannot identify with and which cannot connect with them, having not emanated from them.

“Moreover, all the gains, including the development and stability already achieved by the people-based government, under Gov. Emeka Ihedioha’s administration in the state are now heavily jeopardized.