Court 0f Appeal Affirms Uzodinma  As Imo Governor, Says Neither  Anyanwu Nor Achonu Had Any Case

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The Court of Appeal,  Abuja Division,  has affirmed Senator Hope Uzodinma as the duly elected Governor of  Imo state in the November 11, 2023, off season gubernatorial election.

The second highest Court in the land dismissed the  separate appeals filed by Samuel Anyanwu and Achonu Nneji of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP and Labour LP respectively as lacking in merit

The duo of Anyanwu and Achonu had appealed against the earlier judgement of an Election petition Tribunal that declared Uzodinma as the winner of the election.

The Appeal Court unanimously held that the appeal lacked merit, having also resolved all the issues formulated against the the appellants.

Principally, the appellants had complained about the election being invalid on grounds of non- compliance with extant laws including the amended 2022 Electoral Act

The issue of Governor Uzodinma’s qualifications, particularly his WAEC Certificate, were also  part of the grounds for the appeal.

But the three -man panel of Justices of the Court led by the Honourable Justice Bitrus Sanga held that the appellants separately failed to substantiate their claims of Governor Uzodinma parading fake WAEC Certificate as well as non-compliance of the electoral processes with extant laws.

Uzodinma mercilessly defeated the two – Anyanwu and Achonu – in a landslide. He routed them in all the Local Governments of the State, including their own LGAs.