Votes that brought governor in didn’t have constitutional spread-CLPP

He was validly elected,says GCPP

By Joseph Erunke

Gove Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State

ABUJA-LEADERS of political parties have said the votes that brought Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State into office lacked spread across the state as constitutionally and therefore, ought not to have been declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

To this end,they have appealed to the Supreme Court to review the judgment of the tribunal which validated the governor’s victory with a view to correcting what they termed as “INEC’s wrong.”

READ ALSO:Over 4,500 enroll for Obaseki’s social health insurance scheme in Ovia, Egor, 4 other LGAs(Opens in a new browser tab)

Addressing the media in Abuja,the politicians under the aegis of Concerned Leaders of Political Parties,CLPP,said it was their “strong view that Ihedioha is not a product of genuine election.”

In a prepared text read by their leader, Agbo Major,they insisted that the election was “characterized by irregularities.”

The text read in part:”The declaration and return of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, as Governor of Imo State, despite his failure to meet the constitutional minimum requirements of scoring 25% of the votes cast in each of at least the two-third of all the Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state, in the last general election” was faulty,”they said.

“The well-known trust of APGA and Senator Ifeanyi Araraume’s election petition against the last guber election in Imo State, is the clear breach of the constitution by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) — by the declaration and return of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, as Governor of Imo State, despite his failure to meet the constitutional minimum requirements of scoring 25% of the votes cast in each of at least the two-third of all the Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state, in the last general election.

“Imo State has 27 Local Government Areas. And that two-third of 27 is 18. Ihedioha only scored 25 % of the votes cast in 11 local government areas out of 27, as clearly stated in Form EC8D (Summary of Results from LGAs Collation at State Level, Imo State) — personally certified as Certified True Copy (CTC) by the Head of Legal Department, Imo State INEC, O.Elekwa Esq, on March 20, 2019.

“We are all stakeholders in our nation’s democratic space; our parties participated in the last Imo State governorship election, and all we want is justice.

“And we hope that as we approach the final court of the land – the Supreme Court, the apex court will rise to the demand of justice by scarifying technicalities on the altar of substance and review the document (EC8D) that was the basis for the return of Hon. Ihedioha, as governor of Imo State.

“Because, as many democratic institutions have canvassed, the legitimacy of democratic government is established, in large measure, by genuine, credible, free, fair and acceptable elections.

“It is our strong view that Ihedioha is not a product of genuine election in view of the electoral fraud and other infractions that characterized the last Imo State governorship election.”

with two other political groups; the Grand Coalition of Political Parties (GCPP) and Forum of Governorship Candidates (FGCI) in Abuja over the decision of the Appeal Court which upheld the election.

However,two separate groups,the Grand Coalition of Political Parties,GCPP,and Forum of Governorship Candidates,FGCI, in swift responses, countered CLPP’s claim,insisting that the governor was validly elected.

While commending the judgment of the Appeal Court which had recently upheld the election of the governor, the groups,led by led by Chief Ngwoke Frank,contrary to CLPP’s position, Governor Ihedioha won his election in all parts of the state.

While insisting that the governor was validly elected and declared winner by INEC,he said: “we are worried that after going through the gamut of Elections Tribunal and Appeal Court, the petitioners from Imo are still not satisfied.”

According to him,“They have approached the Supreme Court for a final judgement. We are worried about the bad blood they have brought to bear in a simple election petition process”