Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has accused his successor, Hope Uzodinma, of by no means having received an election, following a court docket judgment that nullified his emergence because the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District within the 2027 normal election.
LEADERSHIP had beforehand reported that the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday nullified Uzodinma’s emergence because the APC candidate for the Imo West Senatorial election slated for January 16, 2027.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, the court docket held that proof earlier than it established that Uzodinma was not the legitimate winner of the social gathering’s senatorial main carried out on May 18 and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The court docket dominated that Okorocha secured the best variety of votes forged and must have been nominated by the social gathering.
Reacting to the judgment throughout an interview on politics right now, Okorocha mentioned Uzodinma had by no means received an election, alleging that his political victories have been secured by the manipulation of election outcomes.
“Hope has never won an election in his life. Let him take you back. Factually speaking, I can run a real election,” the previous governor mentioned.
Okorocha alleged that Uzodinma’s victories have been the results of preparations through which election outcomes have been allegedly written by people moderately than reflecting the votes forged by the voters.
He additionally referred to earlier election disputes involving Uzodinma, claiming that paperwork offered in court docket confirmed manipulated outcomes.
According to him, the judiciary was constrained by the proof and paperwork offered earlier than it in earlier circumstances, and he insisted that the courts didn’t essentially favour the incumbent governor.
Okorocha additional alleged that the identical sample was repeated in the course of the APC main for the Imo West Senatorial District, which resulted within the authorized dispute over the social gathering’s candidate for the 2027 election.
He mentioned Uzodinma’s conduct instructed that he had already assumed he would emerge because the candidate regardless of the matter being contested in court docket.
The former governor additionally expressed satisfaction with Thursday’s judgment, describing it as proof that the judiciary was not obtainable to the best bidder.
“I’m glad that the judiciary is no longer for sale. It’s not for sale at all, and it’s not for the highest bidder,” he mentioned.
Okorocha maintained that the court docket had vindicated his place on the disputed main, alleging that paperwork submitted in help of Uzodinma’s candidacy have been cast.
The judgment represents a setback for Uzodinma’s bid to safe the APC ticket for the Imo West Senatorial District forward of the 2027 normal election.
However, Okorocha’s allegations regarding Uzodinma’s earlier electoral victories stay claims attributed to the previous governor, whereas the court docket’s findings within the senatorial main dispute concern the validity of the APC nomination course of.
How Uzodimma Became Imo Governor in 2020
Recall that Emeka Ihedioha ceased to be the authentic Governor of Imo State in 2020. This was after the Supreme Court reversed the cancellation of outcomes from 388 polling models in Imo State governorship election and declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Hope Uzodinma, as winner of the ballot.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the seven-man panel upheld the attraction filed by Uzodinma on the bottom that Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) didn’t rating nearly all of the lawful votes within the election.
The apex court docket, due to this fact, ordered that Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) be sworn in instantly because the duly elected governor of Imo State.
The court docket agreed that outcomes from 388 polling models have been unlawfully excluded in the course of the collation of the ultimate ends in the state.
We’ve bought the sting. Get real-time stories, breaking scoops, and unique angles delivered straight to your telephone. Don’t accept stale information. Join LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for twenty-four/7 updates →
