Emeka Ihedioha, the former governor of Imo State, withdrew from the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) gubernatorial election in the South-East state, saying that he was making a “personal sacrifice” for the party’s “consensus candidate.”
Prior to the Imo State governorship election on November 11, the former governor was vetted and given the go-ahead by the PDP to run in the party’s primary. However, in a letter dated March 27, 2023, Ihedioha informed the PDP leadership of his “personal sacrifice” for a “consensus candidate” by the party.
After only seven months in office, the Supreme Court removed Ihedioha as governor of Imo State in January 2020.
Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressive Congress (APC) was proclaimed the winner of the state’s gubernatorial election on March 19, 2019, by a seven-member tribunal headed by Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad.
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The appellant, Uzodimma, claimed that he received the highest number of votes in the race, but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chose Ihedioha as the state’s governor.
The judgement was given by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who stated that the votes owing to Uzodimma were illegally omitted from the 318 voting stations and should be added to his votes.
The Supreme Court examined the submissions of a key witness who was under subpoena to show findings and concluded that the lower court erred in its decision.
Justice Kekere-Ekun later proclaimed Uzodimma to be the legally elected governor, and INEC rescinded the certificate of return granted to Ihedioha and gave it to Uzodimma.
