By Ken Afor
The Imo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal has upheld the election victory of Hope Uzodimma as the governor of the state.
In a ruling delivered on Friday in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, the three-judge panel headed by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay unanimously dismissed the petition filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its gubernatorial candidate, Athan Achonu.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Akintan-Osadebay stated that the panel found Uzodimma’s election as the Governor of Imo State to be in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The tribunal further stated that the Labour Party failed to substantiate its allegations of overvoting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act through the evidence presented in its petition.
It would be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the November 11, 2022 governorship election in Imo State.
According to the electoral umpire, Uzodimma, a former Senator who represented Imo West, secured 540,308 votes, defeating his closest rival, Senator Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 71,503 votes. The Labour Party candidate, Achonu, finished third with 64,081 votes, while none of the remaining 15 candidates received more than 10,000 votes.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, Achonu approached the tribunal seeking to overturn Uzodimma’s victory, citing alleged electoral malpractices in certain parts of the state.
