Imo Guber: Supreme Court Rules on INEC Today

Written by This Day Friday, 16 July 2010 05:18

The Supreme Court will today deliver judgement in respect of the Imo State governorship election involving Imo State Governor Ikedi Ohakim,  Senator Ifeanyi Araraume and Chief Martin Agbaso.

Ohakim who was elected on the platform  of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) has since defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while Agbaso and Araraume are of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and PDP respectively.

Agbaso is asking the apex court to declare him winner of the April 2007 gubernatorial election. He claims he won convincingly in 24 out of the 27 local governments in the state before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) cancelled the election.

But Ohakim and INEC are insisting that the Abuja Court of Appeal, which had directed the High Court to hear the case on its merit, has no jurisdiction to do so since the matter has been dispensed with by the Imo election tribunal and Appeal Court in Port Harcourt.

 Araraume on the other hand is asking the apex court to cancel the April 14 and 28, 2007 elections and order a fresh one.
In the substantive case that resulted in the appeal, Agbaso is challenging the cancellation of the April 2007 election cancelled by INEC. He claimed that he won the election and that INEC cancelled it because it was clear that its favoured candidate was losing the election.

He added that he ought to be declared winner of the election. He asked the court to compel INEC to issue him a certificate of return.

INEC had cancelled the election, citing “electoral irregularities” in nine  out of 27 local governments. However, it upheld the State House of Assembly election, which was conducted simultaneously with the gubernatorial.

Meanwhile, the Imo State Commissioner for Information Dr. Kelechi Okpaleke has disossociated the government from allegations that it bribed judges to the tune of  $18 million in order to sway the judgement in his favour.
Okpalaeke said the allegation emanated from the opposition.

 “If I give reaction to the rumour, I am giving credence to those who are carrying such innuendos, all the same I do not know about that because I don’t have the facts," he told THISDAY on phone.