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S’Court Verdict ‘ll Haunt Electoral Jurisprudence -Justice Nweze …Verdict, An Endorsement Of Electoral Fraud, PDP Laments …As Apex Court Declines To Grant Ihedioha’s Appeal
A Supreme Court Justice, Chima Nweze who, yesterday, gave a dissenting judgement stated that the Supreme Court should review its January 14, 2020 ruling that sacked the Imo State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Hon Emeka Ihedioha from office.
Justice Nweze noted that the Supreme Court is permitted by law to overrule itself.
“The reasoning in the judgment will sooner or later haunt our electoral jurisprudence,” Nweze said.
Noting the statement is just an opinion, Nweze said his argument is “an appeal to the brooding spirit of the law.”
Buttressing his argument, the lawyer said Uzodinma misled the apex court with the presented election results of the 388 polling units without indicating the votes polled by opposition parties.
He said the presented results can only be considered authentic if it indicates the number of accredited voters in the claimed polling units alongside the votes garnered by opposition parties.
Justice Nweze also recalled how Uzodinma admitted at the election tribunal that he hijacked the result sheets from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s officials and completed the result sheets by himself.
The Supreme Court ruling of January 14, 2020 declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Hope Uzodinma as the valid winner of the November, 2019 Governorship election conducted in Imo State; ordering the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Emeka Ihedioha to vacate the office of the governor.
A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court, yesterday, decided on the application by Ihedioha’s lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), that the court should review its judgement.
The panel led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad voted six-to-one, with the majority agreeing to dismiss the application.
Reacting, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the verdict of the Supreme Court on the review of its judgment on the Imo State governorship election was a disconcerting endorsement of electoral fraud, which places a huge burden on the court and the Lord Justices.
The PDP, however, notes that in the face of the sad verdict, Justice Chima Nweze’s judgment presents a glimpse of hope for the nation’s judiciary.
The PDP, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, says “What Nigerians expected of the Supreme Court, since the error in its earlier judgment had been fully established, was to summon the courage to affirm its infallibility by correcting the errors and handing over victory to the rightful winner. Sadly, it failed to do so”.
The PDP publicity secretary says the party abides completely by the judgement pronounced by Justice Nweze which he says went straight to the substance of the PDP’s application.
“Our party abides completely by every word of the judgment of Justice Nweze as treated facts, which are truly sacred.
Justice Nweze’s pronouncement, which went straight into the substance of our application represents a universal view about the travesty of justice that occurred in the Imo state governorship election judgment.
“It is indeed unfortunate that the Supreme Court had the wholesome opportunity to redeem itself and correct its errors, but choose to hide behind a technicality to justify and endorse an electoral fraud.
“As a party, we hold that on this judgment, all election stakeholders must rally to create remedies for this pathetic situation created by the Supreme Court in the Imo governorship election before our entire electoral process becomes vanquished.
“This judgment will continue to haunt the Supreme Court. It has created a burden of precedence and fallibility on the court.
“More distressing is the fact that the judgment has heavily detracted from the confidence Nigerians and the international community reposed on the Supreme Court and our entire jurisprudence”.
Also reacting to the judgement, the APC, through its Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who expressed delight in the outcome of the review the Imo governorship judgement, noted that the review was just consistent with the Supreme Court’s body language in similar matters that had come up in recent times.
He, however, lashed out at the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for thinking it could get anything different from the decision of the Supreme Court, pointing out that its candidate, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha failed to get required votes and spread in the election.
“I think it’s refreshing and quite predictable in the sense that from the attitude of the Supreme Court last week on Bayelsa that nothing was wrong with the candidate, the lower court did not disqualify the candidate, the issue of the candidate was not before the Supreme Court and yet the Supreme Court made a decision which we thought that benefited from in the words of Mr Wole Olanikpekun, some human corrections and the court says no whatever they have done was final.
The Supreme Court, yesterday, declined to restore Hon Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the governor of Imo State.
The apex court, in a decision by a seven-man panel of Justices led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad, reinstated the judgement it gave on January 14, which declared Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the validly elected governor of Imo State.
In the lead verdict that was delivered by Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the apex court, held that Ihedioha’s application to set-aside the judgement that removed him from office lacked merit.
It held that the application was an invitation for the Supreme Court to sit on appeal over its own final judgement.
Though it dismissed the application, the apex court refused to award cost against the Applicants.
However, a member of the apex court panel, Justice Centus Nweze, disagreed with the lead verdict, and gave a dissenting opinion that allowed Ihedioha’s application.
Nweze said he was satisfied that the judgement that declared Uzodinma winner was entered in error.
He held that the apex court has a duty to, in the interest of justice, set-aside its decision that was given in error.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, has dissolved the State Executive Council.
The governor announced the cabinet dissolution yesterday in a statement titled ‘Government Special Announcement’, signed by his new Chief Press Secretary, Onwuka Nzeshi.
Governor Fubara directed all Commissioners and Special Advisers to hand over to the Permanent Secretaries or the most Senior officers in their Ministries with immediate effect.
He thanked the outgoing members of the State Executive Council for their service and wished them the best in their future endeavours.
The three-paragraph special announcement read, “His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, Governor of Rivers State, has dissolved the State Executive Council.
“His Excellency, the Governor, has therefore directed all Commissioners and Special Advisers to hand over to the Permanent Secretaries or the most Senior officers in their Ministries with immediate effect.
“His Excellency further expresses his deepest appreciation to the outgoing members of the Executive Council wishing them the best in their future endeavours.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday told the National Assembly that it requires N873.78bn to conduct the 2027 general elections, even as it seeks N171bn to fund its operations in the 2026 fiscal year.
INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, made the disclosure while presenting the commission’s 2026 budget proposal and the projected cost for the 2027 general elections before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja.
According to Amupitan, the N873.78bn election budget covers the full conduct of national polls in 2027.
An additional N171bn is needed to support INEC’s routine activities in 2026, including bye-elections and off-season elections, the commission stated.
The INEC boss said the proposed election budget does not include a fresh request from the National Youth Service Corps seeking increased allowances for corps members engaged as ad-hoc staff during elections.
He explained that, although the details of specific line items were not exhaustively presented, the almost N1tn election budget is structured across five major components.
“N379.75bn is for operational costs, N92.32bn for administrative costs, N209.21bn for technological costs, N154.91bn for election capital costs and N42.61bn for miscellaneous expenses,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chief noted that the budget was prepared “in line with Section 3(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which mandates the Commission to prepare its election budget at least one year before the general election.”
On the 2026 fiscal year, Amupitan disclosed that the Ministry of Finance provided an envelope of N140bn, stressing, however, that “INEC is proposing a total expenditure of N171bn.”
The breakdown includes N109bn for personnel costs, N18.7bn for overheads, N42.63bn for election-related activities and N1.4bn for capital expenditure.
He argued that the envelope budgeting system is not suitable for the Commission’s operations, noting that INEC’s activities often require urgent and flexible funding.
Amupitan also identified the lack of a dedicated communications network as a major operational challenge, adding that if the commission develops its own network infrastructure, Nigerians would be in a better position to hold it accountable for any technical glitches.
Speaking at the session, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) said external agencies should not dictate the budgeting framework for INEC, given the unique and sensitive nature of its mandate.
He advocated that the envelope budgeting model should be set aside.
He urged the National Assembly to work with INEC’s financial proposal to avoid future instances of possible underfunding.
In the same vein, a member of the House of Representatives from Edo State, Billy Osawaru, called for INEC’s budget to be placed on first-line charge as provided in the Constitution, with funds released in full and on time to enable the Commission to plan early enough for the 2027 general election.
The Joint Committee approved a motion recommending the one-time release of the Commission’s annual budget.
The committee also said it would consider the NYSC’s request for about N32bn to increase allowances for corps members to N125,000 each when engaged for election duties.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Simon Along, assured that the National Assembly would work closely with the Commission to ensure it receives the necessary support for the successful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Similarly, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun, also pledged legislative support, warning INEC to be careful about promises it might be unable to keep.
He recalled that during the 2023 general election, INEC made strong assurances about uploading results to the INEC Result Viewing portal, creating the impression that results could be monitored in real time.
“iREV was not even in the Electoral Act; it was only in INEC regulations. So, be careful how you make promises,” Balogun warned.
The N873.78bn proposed by INEC for next year’s general election is a significant increase from the N313.4bn released to the Commission by the Federal Government for the conduct of the 2023 general election.
President Bola Tinubu yesterday expressed grief over the death of a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and one of Africa’s foremost literary scholars, Professor Emeritus Biodun Jeyifo.
Jeyifo passed away on Wednesday, drawing tributes from across Nigeria and the global academic community.
In a condolence message to the family, friends, and associates of the late scholar, Tinubu in a statement by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, described Jeyifo as a towering intellectual whose contributions to African literature, postcolonial studies, and cultural theory left an enduring legacy.
He noted that the late professor would be sorely missed for his incisive criticism and masterful interpretations of the works of Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.
The President also recalled Jeyifo’s leadership of ASUU, praising the temperance, foresight, and wisdom he brought to the union over the years.
Tinubu said Jeyifo played a key role in shaping negotiation frameworks with the government aimed at improving working conditions for university staff and enhancing the learning environment in Nigerian universities.
According to the President, Professor Jeyifo’s longstanding advocacy for academic freedom and social justice will continue to inspire generations.
He added that the late scholar’s influence extended beyond academia into political and cultural journalism, where he served as a mentor to numerous scholars, writers, and activists.
Tinubu condoled with ASUU, the Nigerian Academy of Letters, the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, Oberlin University, Cornell University, and Harvard University—institutions where Jeyifo studied, taught, or made significant scholarly contributions.
“Nigeria and the global academic community have lost a towering figure and outstanding global citizen,” the President said.
“Professor Biodun Jeyifo was an intellectual giant who dedicated his entire life to knowledge production and the promotion of human dignity. I share a strong personal relationship with him. His contributions to literary and cultural advancement and to society at large will be missed.”
Jeyifo was widely regarded as one of Africa’s most influential literary critics and public intellectuals. Among several honours, he received the prestigious W.E.B. Du Bois Medal in 2019.
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