The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Friday delivered a series of landmark judgments, affirming the elections of Governors Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, and Usman Ododo of Kogi State, following the November 11, 2023 off-cycle governorship polls.
Imo State: Hope Uzodimma’s Victory Confirmed
Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, who was declared the winner of the gubernatorial election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with 540,308 votes, has had his victory upheld by the Supreme Court.
Uzodimma had defeated Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 71,503 votes, and Athan Achonu of the Labour Party (LP), who secured 64,081 votes.
After losing at both the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, the PDP and LP candidates sought the Supreme Court’s intervention, challenging Uzodimma’s victory.
However, in a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Mohammed Baba Idris, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals filed by the PDP and LP, citing a lack of merit.
The court held that the petitioners failed to establish their claims of overvoting and electoral malpractices, thereby affirming Uzodimma as the duly elected governor of Imo State.
Kogi State: Ododo’s Election Stands
In Kogi State, the Supreme Court also upheld the election of Governor Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Ododo had been declared the winner by INEC, having secured 446,237 votes to defeat his main rival, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who garnered 259,052 votes.
Ajaka had challenged the election results, alleging substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act. However, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgment, dismissed Ajaka’s appeal, ruling that the allegations were unproven. The court further noted that claims of age falsification and certificate forgery were pre-election matters that should have been addressed at the Federal High Court, which has jurisdiction over such issues.
Bayelsa State: Diri’s Re-election Validated
Similarly, the Supreme Court affirmed the re-election of Senator Douye Diri as the Governor of Bayelsa State. Diri, who won the election with 175,196 votes, had his victory contested by Timipre Sylva of the APC, who polled 110,108 votes. Sylva had filed an appeal against Diri’s victory, but the apex court dismissed the appeal for lacking merit.
A five-member panel led by Justice Lawal Garba ruled that Sylva’s appeal was an abuse of the court process, as he had filed two notices of appeal, which contravened the provisions of the 1999 Constitution that permit only a single appeal against a tribunal judgment. The court thereby upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal, which had earlier dismissed Sylva’s case.
With these rulings, the Supreme Court has brought finality to the governorship elections in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa states, reaffirming the victories of Governors Hope Uzodimma, Usman Ododo, and Douye Diri, respectively.
