In a unanimous decision, the Imo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal has affirmed the election of Hope Uzodimma as the Governor of Imo State. The three-judge panel dismissed the petition filed by the Labour Party (LP) and its governorship candidate, Athan Achonu.
Delivering the judgement in Abuja on Friday, Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay, stated that Uzodimma’s election as the Imo State governor substantially complied with the provisions of the Electoral Act. The tribunal further held that the Labour Party failed to prove its allegations of over-voting and non-compliance with electoral laws.
In the November 2022 governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner. Uzodimma secured 540,308 votes, defeating his closest challenger, Senator Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who received 71,503 votes. Achonu of the Labour Party came in third with 64,081 votes, while the other 15 candidates received less than 10,000 votes each.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, Achonu had approached the tribunal, seeking to have Uzodimma’s victory overturned. However, the tribunal upheld Uzodimma’s election, dismissing the Labour Party’s petition.