Supreme Court upholds Imo, Bayelsa governorship results
On Friday, the Supreme Court affirmed the re-election of three governors following off-cycle elections held on November 11, 2023.
The court’s rulings endorse the victories of Hope Uzodimma in Imo State, Duoye Diri in Bayelsa, and Usman Ododo in Kogi.
Imo State:
The court upheld the election of Governor Hope Uzodimma, who was initially declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with 540,308 votes. His main rivals, Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Athan Achonu of the Labour Party (LP), received 71,503 and 64,081 votes respectively.
The LP and PDP had contested the results, alleging electoral irregularities, but their appeals were dismissed by the Supreme Court for lack of merit.
Justice Mohammed Baba Idris stated that the challengers failed to prove their allegations of over voting and other malpractices.
Bayelsa State:
In Bayelsa, the Supreme Court confirmed Senator Duoye Diri’s re-election, dismissing an appeal by APC candidate Timipre Sylva.
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The court found that Sylva’s appeals were improperly filed and thus ruled them as an abuse of court process.
Diri, declared the winner by INEC with 175,196 votes against Sylva’s 110,108, saw his victory reaffirmed. The apex court held that Sylva’s multiple appeals were unwarranted under constitutional provisions.
