Supreme Court affirms Uzodimma as Imo governor

The Supreme Court has affirmed the re-election of Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma in the November 11, 2023, governorship election in the state.

A five-member panel of the Supreme Court in a judgement delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris on Friday, August 23, 2024, dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate in the Imo State gubernatorial election, Samuel Anyanwu, for lacking in merit.

Justice Idris resolved all the issues raised for determination in the appeal against the appellants.

Justice Idris equally dismissed the appeal by the Labour Party (LP) and its candidate, Athan Achonu, for being unmeritorious.

The judge, who authored and read the lead judgement, resolved the three issues identified for determination against the appellants.

He declared that the appellants as petitioners at the election tribunal failed to prove their case as required.

Justice Idris proceeded to affirm the judgement of the Court of Appeal, which upheld the decision of the Imo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that dismissed the appellants’ petition.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja had, on July 16, dismissed the appeal filed by the PDP and  Anyanwu, challenging the decision of the Imo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which affirmed the election of Uzodimma as the governor of the state.

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The three-member panel led by Justice Bitrus Sanga held that the appeal lacked merit having resolved all issues formulated against the appellants in the suit.

The appellate court also dismissed the appeal by the Labour Party and its candidate and that of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) for also lacking in merit.

The appellants, who were dissatisfied with the election tribunal judgement, had approached the Court of Appeal on grounds that the 2023 gubernatorial poll was invalid because of non-compliance with the provision of the Electoral Act.

The appellants also challenged Uzodimma’s qualification with an allegation that his West African Examination Certificate (WAEC) result was forged.

While delivering judgement, the Court of Appeal held that the appellants in their appeal failed to prove the allegation of non-compliance.

The court also held that the appellants failed to prove that the Imo State Governor submitted a forged certificate.

The Star