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By Collins Ughalaa KSC
Few weeks ago, Radio Nigeria reported during one of its network programmes that the Imo State Government has called on the Honourable Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, and the National Assembly to investigate the circumces that led to the wrongful declaration of Emeka Ihedioha the winner of the 2019 Imo governorship election, when he did not meet the requirements of the constitution to be declared winner of the election, as contained in section 179 of the constitution. The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Hon. Declan Emelumba, who spoke to Radio Nigeria in Abuja noted that notwithstanding that the Supreme Court had righteously retrieved the mandate from Ihedioha’s jaws by declaring Senator Hope Uzodimma the rightful winner of the election, there is the need to probe the circumstances that led to Ihedioha’s declaration as Governor in the first place.
In the old good days, when you catch someome on the wrongside he would show remorse, even if he would do it again. But these days, thieves can kill the owner of the property for daring to challenge them, for daring to recover his property. This is akin to the PDP refusing to be remorseful that they were caught pants down stealing another man’s mandate. They think they can hold everyone down with lies or intimidate everyone else out of the way. That is why they continue to pollute the minds of young Imo people with the lie that they were popularly elected but the Supreme Court deprived them their victory. For this reason, they would rather Imo burns than give Governor Hope Uzodimma breathing space.
The PDP did not win the said election but callously conspired with like-minds to rape our constitution. “Ihedioha did not get one quarter of votes cast in 18 LGAs which is two-third of the 27 local government areas of the State. INEC only declared him winner in 10 LGAs, 8 short of the required 18 LGs. Yet he was declared winner of the election. This is a serious rape of the constitution that should be investigated to know who the perpetrators are. It has never happened in this country before that someone who did not meet the constitutional requirements is declared winner of a governorship election. It should not be swept under the carpet. In a situation where a thief is caught and the stolen object recovered from him and he still goes about shouting that something was stolen from him, there is need for an appropriate sanction”, said the Commissioner.
A notable politician from Owerri Zone where Ihedioha comes from, and author, Hon. Willie Amadi, also believes that our constitution was raped. In his book called “Second Chance”, Willie Amadi said that Ihedioha in collaboration with certain political heavyweights negotiated his guber victory with INEC. “While the collation of votes was going on in the early hours of March 10, 2019, insider information from INEC showed a likelihood of a run-off between Nwosu and Ihedioha. I reached out to Chief Tony Chukwu whom I knew had access to the Presidential Villa, Abuja. As collation entered into a critical and determining stage, I drove to his residence at Civic Centre [Owerri]. I met him with Chief Longers Anyanwu sitting alone in his expansive parlour”, he wrote.
He continued: “I intimated them with the feelers I was getting from INEC and demanded to know from [Tony Chukwu], who, between Nwosu and Ihedioha, we should support. He replied angrily that Nwosu was a no-go area. He explained that he was not ready to help sentencing Imolites to another gruesome eight years since he was certain that Nwosu was going to be a surrogate governor to his father-in-law, the outgoing governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha. On Ihedioha, he had mixed feelings based on the latter’s disrespect to him and an allegation that Ihedioha had told some powerful people in the presidency that he, Chukwu, voted for Atiku Abubakar rather than Buhari the previous week. It took me close to forty minutes to placate him with an appeal that he should forgive Ihedioha since time was of [the] essence. Longers intervened and spoke in a similar vein, pleading with Tony to help in delivering Ihedioha (sic).
“Before going to Tony’s place, I had called Ihedioha to find out how he was faring and whether reports from his election control room was favourable. Typical of Ihedioha, he confessed that he was having problems with the issue of spread but that [he] hoped that the six remaining local government areas would sway in his favour; a hope that was eventually dashed. While Tony was still trying to make up his mind, Chief [Longers] Anyanwu took a step further by putting a call across to Chief Emeka Offor, a well known and influential businessman from Anambra State and solicited for his intervention (sic). Not too long after, Chief Offor called Tony and spoke with him. After their conversation, Tony received calls from [some] governors…Chief Chukwu called Mallam Abba Kyari, the late Chief of Staff to President Buhari; the Minister of Interior, Major General Dambazau; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami as well as the National Security Adviser, Major-General Monguno. According to him, they all agreed with him that Okorocha’s candidate, Nwosu, was not favoured by the new power configuration for 2023. When it appeared that our efforts were beginning to yield fruits – in fact 70 per cent successful – with directives communicated to the INEC Chairman from the appropriate quarters, I suggested to Tony to invite Ihedioha and Jones Onyereri for the final capture and possession. While the two were in Tony’s house, the result was announced and Ihedioha was declared winner. An obviously dazed Ihedioha turned to Tony and asked: ‘What is the source of your power?’ Tony brought out his Rosary, waved it before him” (sic).
Worrisome developments as confessed by Willie Amadi should not be swept under the carpet, especially when the perpetrators and beneficiaries have remained arrogant and impenitent. Such clear rape of the constitution as narrated in Willie Amadi’s “Second Chance” forced candidates in the 2019 governorship election who were shortchanged to seek redress in court.
For his part, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma prayed the court to add the paltry 96,458 votes INEC unlawfully allocated to him to his 213,695 votes which INEC unlawfully excluded from 388 polling units scattered across the State and declare him winner of the election. He said he would have been declared Governor abinitio had INEC not unlawfully excluded his 213,695 votes. The Supreme Court found merit in Uzodimma’s prayers and granted them.
In its celebrated judgement of Tuesday, January 14, 2020, the Supreme Court “ordered that votes due to the appellants (i.e. Sen. Hope Uzodinma and the APC) from the 388 polling units were wrongly excluded from the score ascribed to them”. The Court also “ordered that the appellants’ votes from the 388 polling units (213,695) unlawfully excluded from the appellants’ score shall be added to the results declared by the 3rd respondents”. With the new result, the Supreme Court “declared that the 1st appellant, Senator Hope Uzodinma, polled a majority of lawful votes cast at the governorship election held in Imo State on 9th March, 2019 and satisfied the mandatory constitutional threshold and spread across the State”. The Supreme Court further “declared that the 1st appellant, Senator Hope Uzodinma, is the winner of the governorship election of Imo State held on 9th March, 2019” and that “The Certificate of Return issued to the 1st respondent, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, is hereby withdrawn”. The Apex Court went ahead and “ordered that a Certificate of Return shall be issued to the 1st appellant, Senator Hope Uzodinma, forthwith and he should be sworn in as the Governor of Imo State immediately”.
While lovers of justice rejoiced and hailed the Supreme Court for its righteous judgements, Ihedioha and his group who should have been on their knees begging for forgiveness for the heist they committed are rather busy grandstanding, disrespecting not only the Supreme Court but also shaming them for standing for and doing justice. This makes it imperative, in fact, a sacred duty to our nation, to put this matter to rest by investigating the circumstances that led to unlawful declaration of Ihedioha and the PDP as winners of the 2019 governorship election in Imo. This move, first of its kind, has elicited applause, because a rape of the constitution is criminal in nature and those who indulged in it should not be patted at the back. As Nigerians clamour for free and fair election, there is the need to apply the full weight of the law on those who commit electoral crimes so as to serve as deterrent to those who may toe that ugly path. If corrupt people are convicted, imprisoned and their properties confiscated, it could amount to injustice to allow impenitent electoral offenders to go scot-free.
