There are concerns about whether the November 11, 2023, governorship election in Imo will take place.
Reports reaching this newspaper indicate that Anambra born Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Philip Umeadi, had in 2019, approached the Supreme Court to interpret between Hope Uzodimma and Uche Nwosu, who was the authentic governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2019 Imo governorship election.
Ihedioha and the PDP had joined the matter then as joiners.
Recall that the apex court had disqualified Uche Nwosu for dual nomination, being a candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 Imo governorship election.
Analysts say the petitioner (Umeadi)wants the Court to determine the status of Hope Uzodimma in that election on the basis that Nwosu was also listed as a candidate of the APC.
Umeadi, it was gathered, had approached the apex court for interpretation of the status of Uzodimma after the Supreme Court sacked Emeka Ihedioha as governor and declared Uzodimma the authentic winner of the 2019 governorship election.
Despite Ihedioha’s plea for a review of the judgment that removed him from office, the nation’s apex court insisted on his ouster as governor of Imo State on the basis that he was not duly elected as governor.
However, a source who spoke to this newspaper claimed that due to “one or two reasons, the apex court did not schedule the Umeadi petition filed since 2019 for judgement”
Reports say that the matter after being stalled for three years plus is now scheduled to come up on October 31st, 2023, at the Supreme Court.
A source who is in the know of the matter said hope now rise for Ihedioha, if the judgement of the apex court faults the nomination process of both Uzodimma and Uche Nwosu as candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the 2019 guber election.
“This may alter the November 11, 2023 Imo governorship election depending on where the pendulum of justice swing to” the source who does want his name mentioned stated.
Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had last week sacked Timipre Sylva as governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the ground that he could not be sworn in three times as governor of Bayelsa State.
Okorowo ruled that Sylva, having been sworn in twice and ruled for five years as governor of the state, would breach the 1999 constitution as amended if allowed to contest again.
