Your Case Is ‘Frivolous And Vexatious’, Supreme Court Tells Ihedioha, Dismisses Bid To Unseat Gov Uzodinma

The Supreme Court has dismissed an application by Emeka Ihedioha, of the Peoples Democratic Party seeking the removal of Hope Uzodinma from office as Imo state governor.

Justice Tijjani Abubakar, who read the lead judgement, said the application lacked merit, and was frivolous and vexatious.

He held that the court lacked jurisdiction to determine the matter, because, according to him, the 60 days stipulated to hear the election matter had since elapsed.

Justice Abubakar also fined Counsel for the  PDP,  Mike Ozekhome, SAN, N40m for bringing the matter before the court.

Mr. Ihedioha and the PDP had asked the apex court to give a consequential order to the Independent  National Electoral Commission to issue a certificate of return to Ihedioha as the validly elected governor of Imo state in the 2019 election.

They had argued that Uzodinma was not validly nominated by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to contest the election that led to his first tenure in 2019.

The application further sought to invalidate the years that Uzodinma spent in office as the governor of Imo State.

Though the appeal was initially brought before the apex court by Mr. Uche Nwosu, who was the governorship candidate of the Action Alliance, AA, in the 2019 election, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its own candidate, Emeka Ihedioha, who won the said contest, applied to be joined as interested parties in the matter.

Specifically, the PDP and Ihedioha prayed the Supreme Court to give effect to its 2019 verdict that disqualified Nwosu on the ground that he was nominated by both the AA and the All Progressives Congress, APC, to contest the election.

The appellants argued that if the apex court recognised Nwosu as a candidate of the APC, there was no legal basis for its subsequent judgement that sacked Ihedioha and declared Uzodinma, who was also sponsored by the same APC, as the valid winner of the governorship poll.

Consequently, the PDP urged the apex court to restore its candidate, Ihedioha, back to office since the APC was precluded from sponsoring two candidates in the election.