The Supreme Court of Nigeria has declared the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Hope Uzodinma as the rightful winner of March 9 governorship election in Imo state hence asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue certificate of return to him immediately after nullifying the governorship election of Emeka Ihedioha the sitting governor the Peoples Democratic Party candidate.
The seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad gave the unanimous decision on the 14th of January in Abuja
The other day I was reading the highlights of Bittertruth Media as the chances of the former lawmaker despite coming a distant fourth place in the election. I dismissed all except the words of the prophecy of fierce Catholic Priest, Rev Fr Ejike Mbaka. With a huge Christian population, many Nigerians believe in God and the words of his prophets. In his 2020 prophecies, Mbaka had said;
“Those who are attacking the message are just casting Pearl before swine, the holy spirit has said it, and that is final.
“I don’t know how it will happen, but the only thing is that I see hope, joy, and a new government coming in Imo state.
“Even though Ihedioha has won in tribunal and at the Appeal court, that doesn’t mean that he will triumph in supreme Court enough of all this brouhaha!
“What we are doing in adoration here is spiritual, it is not according to our power, it is holy spirit, once he reveals it, we say it.
“Ihedioha and co should go and relax. This is not unprecedented, it happened to Jonathan, Atiku and Peter Obi and after everything, my prophecy came through. You must not be the Governor of Imo state, and you are not better than Hope Uzodinma,” Mbaka said.
If Mbaka’s boast that his prophecies never fail is anything to be trusted, then his preferred governor may take over Imo State.
Furthermore the highlight pointed other factors as Electoral Irregularities: Irregularities which characterised any electoral process is a huge consideration to nullify the said election. However, in our Nigerian setting, it is always difficult to prove the occurrence of such irregularities across the areas where the elections held. Accordingly, if the lawyers of the petitioner are able to convince the Justices of the Supreme Court that the election was married by substantial irregularities, then the election may be nullified.
Inability of Gov. Ihedioha to Meet the Constitutional Requirement of Victory: All the petitioners including Sen.Uzodinma are contending that the declaration of Emeka Ihedioha was wrong since he didn’t fulfil the constitutional one quarter of the votes in at least two-thirds of the 27 local government areas of the state, in line with Section 179 of the Constitution. Although the lower courts have dismissed that argument and gave judgment in favour of Gov.Ihedioha, the ruling of the Supreme Court on that issue may go a long way in determining whether Gov.Ihedioha will lose his seat.
Dissenting Judgment in favour of Uzodimma’s Appeal: A sign of hope for Senator Hope Uzodinma is a dissenting judgment that was given in his favour at the Court of Appeal. The judgment was given in a ratio of 4:1.There are precedents where the Supreme Court jettisoned the majority judgment and upheld that of the minority. If the apex court sees through the eyes of the minority judgment and upholds that merit, then Senator Uzodinma may just emerge victorious.
The Disqualification Uche Nwosu: The decision of the Supreme Court to nullify the candidature of Action Alliance’s Uche Nwosu has obviously brought Senator Uzodinma close to the Imo Seat of Power. Any judgment which spells doom for the appeal of APGA’s Ararume may swing favour to the side of Senator Uzodinma.
The alleged exclusion of some results: Senator Hope Uzodinma is arguing that if results from 366 polling booths out of the approved 388 where he won are added to the official results, he will have the highest number of votes and emerge as the winner. If the Supreme Court buys into his argument and recalculates the votes, things may just go his way.
However lots of Imolites will not be happy with these development as it seems that Orlu Zone has hijacked Imo Government. We are yet to get full details of the nullification anyway.
