The Supreme Court has upheld the re-election of Senator Hope Uzodimma as the Governor of Imo State, dismissing appeals filed by the Labour Party (LP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging his victory.
In the November 11, 2023 governorship election, Uzodimma polled 540,308 votes, defeating Samuel Anyanwu of the PDP, who scored 71,503 votes, and Athan Achonu of the LP, who secured 64,081 votes.
The LP and PDP candidates alleged irregularities in the polls and contested the result at the Imo State Election Petitions Tribunal, which ruled in Uzodimma’s favor.
They then approached the appeal court, which also upheld Uzodimma’s victory.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals filed by the LP and PDP candidates, affirming Uzodimma as the lawfully elected governor of Imo State.
The court held that the appellants failed to establish allegations of overvoting and other malpractices during the November 11, 2023 poll.
The lead judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Baba Idris upheld the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Imo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which dismissed the petitions in their separate judgments.
