Supreme Court: Why Uzodimma Will Always Triumph Over Imo Forces Of Evil

BEN AHANONU

Since news of the Supreme Court, fixing October 31, 2023 as date to hear an application filed by the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, three years ago to remove Governor Hope Uzodimma from office broke, many enemies of the State and haters of the progress Imo has made with Governor Uzodimma at the helm, are overjoyed and swimming in delusional ocean of fantasies.

I truly understand their pitiful situation because as bad losers they have refused to come to terms with the fact that Governor Uzodimma did not emerge as the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 general election through the back door and that he won the election.

Their pain had always been, how did someone, who was wrongly declared by the corrupt Resident Electoral Commissioner then to have come fourth, got later declared the actual winner of the election by the Supreme Court?

In their very myopic mindset they failed to grapple with the intricate details of that landmark judgment of January, 2020 by the Supreme Court, which restored the stolen mandate to the real winner and had always longed for a reversal.

Now, it is evident that many of those bad losers and demented wailers are hysterical because of what seems to them like an opportunity to remove Gov. Uzodimma from power – quite laughable.

In fact, I decided to write this piece to save many of them from heart attack on October 31, 2023 but it is not an attempt to preempt the court hearing or discuss a matter already pending in court – never.

Instead, my aim is to journalistically put in context the historical processes both legal and political that culminated in the emergence of Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma as the gubernatorial candidate of the APC in the 2019 general election and it is without any prejudice to the integrity of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Firstly, there was a primary election on October 1, 2018, conducted by Imo State All Progressives Congress (APC) Primary Election Committee chaired by late Alhaji Ahmed Gulak (may his gentle soul continue to rest in peace) that was properly constituted by the APC National Working Committee (NWC) and the election was free and fair.

Thereafter, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) endorsed Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, who then was representing Imo west at the Senate, as its governorship candidate, a decision that Rochas Okorocha, former governor of Imo State, kicked against.

Secondly, the primary from which Uche Nwosu emerged was purportedly conducted on October 6, 2018, by the Ibrahim Agbabiaka-led Committee.

The then Deputy Governor of Imo State, Prince Eze Madumere, approached the Federal High Court in Owerri, to seek an injunction restraining the party i.e. APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from organising, monitoring or supervising any other governorship primaries by the party in the state.

The presiding Judge, Justice K.A Orjiako, granted the prayers sought by the then deputy governor, that the October 1, 2018 Imo governorship APC primary election and the contestants be declared as the only relevant and valid primary process through which Senator Hope Uzodinma emerged the winner.

The judgement was based on earlier court order granted by an Abuja High Court, which had restrained the party from conducting any fresh primary election until the determination of the matter before it over the October 1, 2018 primary election, and therefore, declared that the governorship primary conducted by the Agbabiaka-led Committee was an effort in futility and affront to the court.

Both former Governor Okorocha and his son-in-law, Nwosu, had insisted that Nwosu won the October 6, 2018 Imo APC governorship primary election.

The then Deputy Governor of the state, Prince Eze Madumere, also sought the nullification of the said October 6, 2018 primary election on the grounds that the primary election earlier conducted on October 1, 2018 met all the conditions of a valid primary election as enshrined in the APC constitution.

In the suit, Madumere said there was no need for the primary election conducted on October 6, 2018 during which Nwosu, who is a son-in-law to Governor Rochas Okorocha was selected as the party’s candidate.

In his ruling, Justice K. A. Orjiako granted all the prayers sought by Madumere, stating that with the order granted by an Abuja High Court restraining fresh primaries, it was illegal to conduct a repeat primary election.

He therefore ruled that the primary election conducted on October 1, 2018, which produced Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodinma as the APC governorship candidate for Imo State remains valid.

According to legal experts, Uche Nwosu irredeemably lost out in the light of the judgement by Justice Orjiako, as the foundation of his claim of gubernatorial ticket collapsed irretrievably.

Worthy of note is the fact that none of the contestants in the election protested against the result as declared by the returning officer but rather six out of the nine contestants (aspirants) confirmed that the primary election held and it was free and fair.

Meanwhile, the electoral guidelines did not give the National Chairman of the APC or the National Working Committee (NWC) the power to interfere with the electoral process and in the absence of an appeal, no organ of the party can cancel the result of primaries.

I therefore urge the good people of Imo State to continue to support the Shared Prosperity Administration of Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma and come out en masse on Saturday November 11, 2023 to re-elect him for a second term of office because he has really done well.

One thing certain is that in this life, it is quite impossible to please everyone but good things continue to happen.

Let me also affirm that Gov. Uzodimma is not the President of Nigeria and has no hand in the economic challenges the country is facing, which are however surmountable with time.

He feels the pains of Imo people and has resolved to do even more to bring a smile to their faces.

Let us remain steadfast, positive and confident that everything is going to be alright for Imo State with Gov. Uzodimma in the saddle.

God bless Imo State!

– Hon. Prince Ben AHANONU ( Ezi Nwanwa Mbaitoli) is Special Adviser (CSDP) to the Governor of Imo State.