Supreme Court judgement a truncation of people’s will – Emeka Ihedioha  

The deposed Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, on Wednesday condemned the judgement of the Supreme Court which annulled his election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and declared Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the March 9, 2019  governorship election in Imo State.

Ihedioha in a statement on Wednesday indicated that he does not agree with the Supreme Court judgment on Tuesday, protesting that the judgement was “unfair, unjust and does not reflect the voting that took place during the elections” in Imo State.

The former Imo governor protested that the judgement argued that the judgement reflected “the truncation of the people’s will and an affront on the good initiative his administration after its experiences with ‘bad governance’ of the previous government in the state.”

He declared: “In the last seven months, we sought to elevate merit, unity of purpose, honesty, transparency and an inclusive approach to governance, as the hallmarks of our administration. We sought to restore once again, the pride and dignity of Imo people. We worked very hard to re-engineer the Imo renaissance. But God knows why he has allowed this current state of affairs.

“I do not agree with the judgement of the Supreme Court. I think it is unfair, unjust and does not reflect the voting that took place during the elections. It also didn’t take care of the sensibilities of the people of Imo State. But as true democrats, Engr Gerald Irona (ousted deputy governor) and I have no option but to respect the outcome of that judgement.”

The deposed governor thanked the people of Imo State for their support in the achievements his administration recorded within seven months of being in office.

He cautioned against “any action that is capable of resulting in a breach of the peace”.

“It is incontrovertible that we ran a good race, fought tough battles, (including, principalities and powers) and governed the state well, with the fear of God, accountability, transparency and entrenched due process.

“We, however, take solace in the book of Ecclesiastics 3:1, “To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven,” he remarked.

The Supreme Court panel in its judgement announced by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, declared that “Vote due to the appellant, Senator Hope Uzodinma, and the APC from 388 Polling Units were wrongly excluded from scores ascribed to the appellant (to them) at the collation of the final election result.

Uzodinma had placed fourth in the INEC official result in which  Ifeanyi Ararume of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was second, followed by Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance.