Ousted governor of Imo, Emeka Ihedioha has expressed rude shock following the Supreme Court judgement on Tuesday that nullified his election and declared Senator Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress as the duly elected governor.
In a parting broadcast on Wednesday, Ihedioha, a former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, said he disagreed with the judgement, which has truncated the will of the people of Imo.
“I think it is unfair, unjust and does not reflect the voting that took place during the elections. It also didn’t take care of the sensibilities of the people of Imo State. But as true democrats, Engr Gerald Irona and I have no option but to respect the outcome of that judgement”, he said.
As he stepped out of office, Ihedioha said he has taken solace in the book of Ecclesiastics 3:1, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”.We step aside with implicit faith in the Sovereign Lord who reigns over the affairs of men”.
The Full Broadcast
My dear good people of Imo State,
I address you today, following recent developments affecting our dear state, and in particular the Supreme Court judgement of 14thJanuary 2020.In my relationship with you as Governor of Imo ,
I had employed regular consultations and dialogue as a tool of political discourse. This informs this course of action.
2. I am reporting back to you our great Imo people on the fate of the mandate you freely gave to me as Governor and Engr. Gerald Irona as Deputy Governor. This mandate has now been truncated and cut short by the Supreme Court, in contravention of the will of the people.
3. We shall always cherish the tremendous goodwill and support you gave us as we grappled with setting up a new administration to rebuild a state that was devastated by bad governance.
4. In the last seven months we sought to elevate merit, unity of purpose, honesty, transparency and an inclusive approach to governance, as the hallmarks of our administration. We sought to restore once again, the pride and dignity of Imo people. We worked very hard to re-engineer the Imo renaissance. But God knows why he has allowed this current state of affairs.
