UCHE NWOSU THREATENS IHEDIOHA VICTORY
By Samuel Ibezim
Even as the governor elect of Imo State, Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha is preparing to take over affairs of the state come May 29th, 2019 through inauguration of several Committees, one of those who ran the governorship race against him, Chief Uche Nwosu is unrelenting in the task to stop him from becoming the Chief Executive of the state after Okorocha.
As part of the plot, a court notice has been placed to serve as notice to both Ihedioha and PDP arising from decision of the Tribunal to apply subsisted service to notify the parties involved.
Nwosu, the Action Alliance,AA gubernatorial candidate that came second in the March 9 election, in his plot to stop Ihedioha succeeded in getting the tribunal to grant his application of request to substitute service on Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, governor-elect.
Justice M. O Adewara, Chairman of the Tribunal for Imo State governorship and House of Assembly Election Petitions granted that Ihedioha and People’s Democratic Party, PDP, be served on the wall of their buildings.
Nwosu had prayed the tribunal to determine and declare that Ihedioha didn’t satisfy the requirement of the 1999 Federal Republic of Nigeria constitution which interprets that one must poll not less than one
quarter of all the votes cast in at least two thirds of the Local Government Areas in a State.
Okey Amechi, Nwosu’s counsel, submitted “an order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a runoff election between the petitioners and the 2nd and 3rd Respondents into the office of Governor of Imo State forthwith as prescribed under Section 179 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).”
It would be recalled that after the collection of the March 9th governorship election, the Returning Officer Prof Otunta announced Ihedioha winner.
INEC subsequently gave Certificate of Return to confirm he won.
Not satisfied with the outcome of the election, the AA candidate was said to have gone to the Federal Court in Owerri to seek for non issue of certificate of return to Ihedioha. The matter was thrown out on the basis that it is an election matter connected to the Tribunal
