Imo Guber Tussle: S’Court Fixes March 2 For Judgement

The Supreme Court yesterday fixed March 2 for judgement in an appeal filed against the election of Chief Rochas Okorocha of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) as Governor of Imo State in the April, 2011 Poll.

Chief Ikedi Ohakim, who contested the election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had gone to the apex court to challenge the verdict of the Imo State Election Petitions Tribunal which was upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Justice Walter Ononghen, who led other four Justices, gave the date after counsel to both parties had adopted their written addresses.

Presenting his address, Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), counsel to Okorocha, said that his client won the election, adding that the supplementary elections held in Oguta Ohaji/Egbema, Mbaitoli together with Orji Ward in Owerri North and Owerri West on May 6, 2011 were in accordance with the Electoral Act.

He said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ordered the supplementary elections in those areas because of reported cases of malpractice.

He said it would be an illusion to tie the victory of Okorocha at the poll to the supplementary elections, saying that the governor had an over-whelming mandate of the people of the state.

“INEC’s declaration of Governor Rochas Okorocha after the conduct of the supplementary elections was done in good faith because he scored the highest votes. So, I urge this honourable court to dismiss the appeal and uphold the decisions at the lower courts,” he said.

But Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), counsel to the PDP, argued that INEC did not do a neat job in Imo State, adding that the court should uphold the appeal and declare Ohakim winner of that election and by extension governor of the state.

He stated that at the end of the main election, the PDP polled a total of 310,188 votes as against APGA’s 305,266, saying that the PDP recorded the required 25 per cent spread in the 23 local government areas of the state while APGA recorded 25 per cent in 15 local government areas.

Olanipekun submitted that INEC violated the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution through the cancellation of the election while the parties were waiting for the block announcement of the results.

“The parties, including the APGA and its candidates, were taken aback when on April 27, 2011 at about 11 a.m., the State Returning Officer announced that the election of the previous day was inconclusive.

“Perhaps unknown to the public, APGA and her candidate, Chief Rochas Okorocha, filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Owerri, praying the court for INEC to declare him winner of the election on the strength of the results from Mbaitoli Local Government Council.

“APGA and his candidate further asked the court to restrain INEC from conducting the supplementary elections scheduled for May 6, 2011.

“On our part, our party forwarded a letter to INEC formally asking it to declare the result in the three local government councils.

“The import of my argument is that all parties neither supported nor participated in the supplementary elections. So it is totally an injustice for Okoracha to be declared as winner of an election he neither believed in nor participated,” he stated.

Olanipekun, therefore, prayed the court to uphold the appeal and compel INEC to declare Ohakim winner of the April 16, 2011 governorship election in Imo State.