Imo State Governor ,Hope Uzodinma retains his position following the Supreme Court’s dismissal of an application seeking his removal.
A five-member panel of justices, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, ruled on Tuesday that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the application, deeming it frivolous and highly vexatious.
The apex court also imposed a personal cost of N40 million against the legal counsel representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the petitioner, Ihedioha, Mike Ozehkome (SAN).
The application brought by the PDP and Ihedioha aimed to oust Uzodinma from office, citing his alleged invalid nomination by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2019 election that secured his initial tenure.
Additionally, the application sought to nullify Uzodinma’s tenure as governor. The PDP and Ihedioha had moved to join an appeal initially filed by Uche Nwosu, the governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA), challenging Uzodinma’s qualification.
The core argument centered on the recognition of Nwosu as the APC candidate, emphasizing that this contradicted the Supreme Court’s subsequent decision to remove Ihedioha and declare Uzodinma, who was also sponsored by the same APC, as the valid winner of the governorship election.
In their plea, the appellants urged the Supreme Court to reinstate Ihedioha, contending that the APC’s dual candidate sponsorship invalidated Uzodinma’s claim to the governorship.
The PDP, through an affidavit deposed by legal practitioner Adedamola Farokun, clarified that their application did not seek a review of previous judgments but urged the court to enforce its 2019 verdict.
While asserting the court’s constitutional jurisdiction and discretion, the PDP argued that upholding their request aligned with the principles of justice.
