Imo: Tension Grips PDP, APC As Supreme Court Rules Today

The Supreme Court is expected to rule today over the application filed by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Emeka Ihedioha, seeking for a review of the judgement that sacked him as the Governor of Imo State.

Recall that the apex court delivered a similar judgement in the application filed by the All Progressives Congress and its governorship candidate in Bayelsa State, David Lyon.

However, the ruling of the apex court did not favour the applicants as the court refused to reverse it’s ruling and affirmed the governorship candidate of PDP, Douye Diri as governor.

The Supreme Court also fined Chief Afe Babalola SAN and Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN for bringing the application before the court.

In today’s case, Ihedioha and PDP’s application, filed by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN)-led legal team is praying the apex court to set aside its judgment as a nullity as it was obtained by fraud in a suit of appeals Nos: SC. 1462/2019; SC/1470/2019; CA/OW/GOV/05/2019 and petition No: EPT/GOV/IM/08/2019 between Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC and Emeka Ihedioha, the Peoples Democratic Party and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Ihedioha submitted that “the Appellants/Respondents (Uzodinma), fraudulently misled this court into holding that a total of 213,495 votes were unlawfully excluded from the votes scored by the 1st appellant/respondent in the gubernatorial election of March 9, 2019 in Imo State.”

“The first appellant/Respondent admitted under cross-examination that he was the person (and not the third Respondent [INEC] or any of its officials) who computed the result that gave him the 213,495 votes alleged to have been excluded from his total votes in the election.”

However, Governor Uzodinma told the court to strike out the application filed by the PDP and its candidate, Ihedioha.