Supreme Court Stands Down Imo Guber Ruling, As INEC Fixes Rerun Election for January 25

Supreme Court Stands Down Imo Guber Ruling, As INEC Fixes Rerun Election for January 25

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The Supreme Court has stood down judgment in the suit challenging the election of Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State.

The court took the decision on Tuesday while hearing the appeal filed by Ifeanyi Ararume, candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the March 9 election.

Senator Ararume filed the appeal to challenge Governor Ihedioha’s election after he lost at the Imo State Governorship Election Tribunal and the Court of Appeal.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, who is heading a seven-man panel of justices of the apex court, said the court will deliver judgement much later.The court us currently hearing the second appeal filed by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Hope Uzodinma.

In the same vein, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it has developed a timetable of activities with timelines for the re-run and supplementary elections in Imo State scheduled for Jan. 25.

According to reports, Prof. Francis Ezeonu, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, who made this known at a meeting of the commission with stakeholders in Owerri said an Appeal Court sitting in Owerri had ordered a re-run election for the Okigwe/Onuimo/Isiala Mbano Federal Constituency as well as supplementary elections in 18 polling units of Orlu/Orsu/Oru East Federal Constituency and 12 polling units of Njaba state constituencies.

He said that all the polling units designed for supplementary elections in Orlu/Orsu/Oru East Federal constituency were in Orlu Local Government area, adding that the commission had scheduled Saturday, Jan. 25, for the re-run and supplementary elections.

Ezeonu said the commission would retain all the arrangements made during the general elections as it was concluding arrangements for the election as scheduled.

”We will also activate and use all the super Residential Area Centers (RAC) and RACs in Okigwe, Onuimo and Isiala Mbano LGAs, respectively, for camping on eve of the election on Jan. 24 for easy deployment of materials to the polling units on election day,” he said.

He said that the materials would be deployed in both Orlu and Njaba LGA directly from the INEC LGA offices, saying that the polling units where supplementary elections would hold were within reach.

The REC, therefore, appealed to stakeholders and communities where the centres are located to help maintain the sanctity and security of the centres as well as ensure a free and flawless elections.

According to him, “we will be fair and transparent in all we do.”

Ezeonu also reminded them about the rules guiding elections and election activities with restriction of movement in all the constituencies where elections would be held on that day.

He said that the exercise would be restricted to only political parties that participated in the earlier elections.

Mr Victor Nwokoabia, the Head of Department, Election and Party Monitoring Department, INEC in Owerri, urged the chairmen of political parties to submit list of their polling agents, one for each party, on or before Jan. 18.

He advised politicians and political parties not to bring in observers except those that would be cleared from the INEC.

Imo State gov, Emeka Ihedioha