Ihedioha vs Uzodinma: MOUAU VC, Prof Otunta Comes Under Fire Over Alleged 2019 Guber Election Malpractices. … Imo House Orders Arrest, Prosecution.

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FAMOUS REPORTERS

The Vice Chancellor of Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, MOUAU
Prof. Francis Otunta and Returning officer of the 2019 Imo state governorship election conducted in Imo state, has come under fire over alleged election malpractices at the Imo state 2019 Governorship election which had initially produced Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as the Governor, Daily Post reports.

The Imo State House of Assembly, yesterday, demanded from relevant government authorities for the arrest and prosecution of the Returning officer.

The State Assembly, made the demand during it’s plenary session, in a motion moved on Friday in Owerri.

The lawmakers vehemently criticised the alleged electoral malpractices which, according to them, heightened tension in the state, following the removal of  Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, of the PDP and installation of Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC as governor of Imo state.

It would be recalled that the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, was declared winner of the governorship election in Imo State.

According to the result as announced by the INEC, Ihedioha had polled 273,404 to defeat candidate of the Action Alliance, Uche Nwosu, Governor Rochas Okorocha’s son-in-law who polled a total of 190,364.

The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Ifeanyi Ararumecame third with 114, 676 while Hope Uzondima of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 96,458 while the Accord Party candidate was fifth with 6,846 votes.

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INEC Imo State Returning Officer who is also the current Vice-Chancellor of the MOUAU, Abia State, Francis Atunta, had recorded 2,221,008 as the total number of votes and the total accredited voters as 823,743.

25,130 votes were cancelled across the state with total valid votes as 714,355 while the total votes cast is 739,485.

However, the Supreme Court of Nigeria had last month, declared Uzodinma, the candidate of the APC in the 2019 governorship election as Imo Governor.

A seven-man panel of the apex court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad, unanimously declared Hope Uzodinma as the winner of the March 9, 2019, governorship election and the validly elected governor of the state.

In the judgment read by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the judges unanimously agreed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was wrong to have excluded some votes from the scores of Uzodinma.

The judge said with the result, the APC governorship candidate polled majority of lawful votes and ought to have been declared winner by INEC.

However, the recent motion as moved by the member representing Obowo state constituency, Kennedy Ibeh and cosponsored by twenty other members, the Assembly unanimously accused the state Resident Electoral Commission(REC), Prof. Chukwuemeka Ezeonu and the Returning Officer, Prof. Francis Otunta of illegally declaring Ihedioha winner hence, should be made to face the music.

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While supporting the motion, which prayed that the state Resident Electoral Commissioner and Returning Officer, who declared Emeka Ihedioha winner of March 9 Imo governorship election be arrested and prosecuted forthwith, Eddy Obinna, the member representing Aboh Mbaise state constituency, pleaded with the ousted Governor and PDP supporters to embrace the new government and restrain from going about the streets, protesting against a judgement which he described as the final.

Meanwhile, when contacted, the spokes (PRO) person of Professor Francis Otunta, the INEC Returning officer during the last March 9 gubernatorial election in Imo state, Mrs. Adanma Odefa Wachukwu denied having knowledge of such development.

Asked about their defense, whatsoever, regarding the alleged election malpractices and proposed prosecution of the Vice Chancellor, she said:

“No, I don’t actually. We have no clue and nothing officially. You telling me is like a hearsay, a rumour and I can’t say anything until they say something directly to us or say something that comes to our notice. Maybe by then, we might have something to say. There’s really nothing to say now”.

By Famous Reporters

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