Imo: Supreme Court Ruling On 2019 Imo Governorship Election Now Haunting Only Imo PDP

OGU BUNDU NWADIKE, M.A

{“Our ruling on Imo governorship will haunt Nigeria for a long time”_ ~ Justice Centus Nweze JSC, March 2020!}

That quote, was by Justice Centus Nweze of the Supreme Court, a member of the team of Justices of the Apex Court that determined the appeal that was brought before it by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, their gubernatorial candidate in the 2019 governorship election against Imo PDP and Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, their candidate.

The quote was delivered as a impromptu prophetic utterance by Justice Nweze as his dissenting opinion to the majority ruling that APC/Uzodimma won the election that was declared by the highest court of the land; actually during the review and reverse application by the PDP and Ihedioha, which the Supreme Court refused to grant on grounds of ethics and principles. Of course, Justice Nweze was angry at the ruling, which didn’t support his views!

Made about 20 months ago, that prophecy directly said that the ruling would haunt Nigeria for a long time. He said that it’ll be for an unspecified long time. He never said it was going to be forever. And at the time he uttered the premonition in 2020, it undoubtedly had an unarguable impact on Nigeria!

However, as time passed from days to weeks, to months and now years, the impact of the prophecy kept waning as Nigerians steadily keyed into the reality of the judgement by the Supreme Court of Nigeria that warranted the prophecy ab initio.

Now, near 24 months after, it appears that the ruling is haunting only leaders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State. That’s because it’s only the Imo PDP that has steadily kept the memory of the ruling on the front burner of their political interactions with the part of the society that still care to hear about the old ruling.

Instructively, even the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP never mentions the January 14, 2020 ruling of the Supreme Court that ousted PDP and Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha from the Government House of Imo State. PDP National has moved on with more important and more pressing issues, refusing to protractedly dwell in the past, and crying over spilled milk!

The story is different in Imo State where Imo PDP leaders and members still persevere in dwelling in the past, drudgingly crying over spilled milk of the judgement by the Supreme Court. They just can’t seem to find it easy to ever come to terms with the reality of PDP seeing the Promise Land of Douglas House but being sent back to the literal Douglas Road, courtesy of Nigeria’s Apex Court.

That shocking and surprising judgement has incidentally sustained Imo PDP in the mood of uncontrollable and implacable angry mourning since January 14, 2020 till date. For Imo PDP, though, it has been a rather too long a time of lamentations and gnashing of teeth!

The crucial poser here, therefore, is why has that postulation by Justice Centus Nweze been reflecting on only Imo PDP and not Nigeria as he predicted? Why does Imo PDP sustainably keep the Government of Imo State in the wrestling and boxing rings just because of the judgement of the Supreme Court, which like God’s case, hasn’t any appeal? 

The verifiable high level of hatred and malice that Imo PDP exhibits for the sitting government of Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma is, simply speaking, most strange and bizarre. Will Imo PDP mourn that January 2020 loss in the Supreme Court forever? Will Imo PDP keep living in bondage of hatred and malice forever because the Apex Court removed them from power?

The good condolence message and consolatory admonition, however, is for Imo PDP to mourn their loss and defeat like people with faith. They mustn’t mourn with the mindset of faithless people. The judgement must have been painful, but fortunately no life was lost! There’s time and season for everything under the sun! The time for mourning has passed. Now, is the time for moving on with life! 

It’s hoped that Imo PDP will be encouraged to mind their political business and give peace a chance to allow the sitting government to deliver leadership and governance to the people of Imo State. Let the mourning, hatred and malice come to an end! Let the distraction and disaffection stop! 

By God’s grace, Imo State must be rehabilitated, reconstructed and recovered!!