Emeka Ihedioha
A former governor of Imo state, Emeka Ihedioha has reacted to the
Supreme Court judgement on Tuesday that nullified his election and
declared Senator Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress as the
duly elected governor.
He said the news came to him as a rude shock.
In a parting broadcast on Wednesday, Ihedioha, a former deputy
speaker of the House of Representatives, said he disagreed with the
judgement, which has truncated the will of the people of Imo.
“I think it is unfair, unjust and does not reflect the voting
that took place during the elections. It also didn’t take care of the
sensibilities of the people of Imo State. But as true democrats, Engr
Gerald Irona and I have no option but to respect the outcome of that
judgement”, he said.
As he stepped out of office, Ihedioha said he has taken solace in the book of Ecclesiastics 3:1, “To
everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
heaven”. We step aside with implicit faith in the Sovereign Lord who
reigns over the affairs of men”.
Read the full broadcast below:
My dear good people of Imo State,
I address you today, following recent developments affecting
our dear state, and in particular the Supreme Court judgement of
14thJanuary 2020.In my relationship with you as Governor of Imo , I had
employed regular consultations and dialogue as a tool of political
discourse. This informs this course of action.
I am reporting back to you our great Imo people on the fate of
the mandate you freely gave to me as Governor and Engr. Gerald Irona as
Deputy Governor. This mandate has now been truncated and cut short by
the Supreme Court, in contravention of the will of the people.
We shall always cherish the tremendous goodwill and support you
gave us as we grappled with setting up a new administration to rebuild a
state that was devastated by bad governance.
In the last seven months we sought to elevate merit, unity of
purpose, honesty, transparency and an inclusive approach to governance,
as the hallmarks of our administration. We sought to restore once again,
the pride and dignity of Imo people. We worked very hard to re-engineer
the Imo renaissance. But God knows why he has allowed this current
state of affairs.
No doubt, yesterday’s Supreme Court verdict, came to us as a
rude shock and surprise considering the facts on ground, legal
precedence and clear verdict of Imo People on March 9 2019, that
returned me as Governor with the highest valid votes of 273,404
I do not agree with the judgement of the Supreme Court. I think
it is unfair, unjust and does not reflect the voting that took place
during the elections. It also didn’t take care of the sensibilities of
the people of Imo State. But as true democrats, Engr Gerald Irona and I
have no option but to respect the outcome of that judgement.
Consequently, we have put machinery in motion to hand-over the
reins of office to the APC Candidate as the the next governor of Imo
State. This will be coordinated by the Secretary to the State
Government. I therefore direct all members of Imo State Expanded
Executive Council, and all political appointees to write their
handing-over notes and to return all government properties in their
custody, forthwith. I shall not be party to pilfering of Government
property or funds.
May we use this opportunity to express our gratitude to God for
the opportunity to serve, within the short period he granted us. We
sincerely appreciate you for all your solidarity and goodwill. We would
forever cherish and treasure your love, your trust and your
partnership. We made our mark. Rebuilding our dear state is neither
easy nor personal, but a task undertaken for our today and tomorrow.
I thank you all for your support which saw us achieve so much
and reversed the negative trajectory of Imo State within a space of
seven months. It is significant to note that Imo State was looking good
again. We were declared the least corrupt State in the Country, the
fastest state growing economy in Nigeria and the most improved, in terms
of the deployment of Information Technology in service delivery. Our
infrastructure was significantly coming to life, civil servants and
pensioners were now being paid as and when due and optimism returned to
Imo State. It is on record that we were acclaimed as the most sports and
diaspora friendly state. Most importantly we returned life and
activities to our local governments. Yes we had good plans to make Imo
the centre piece of commerce, industry, technology, tourism by providing
good leadership and first class infrastructure. Under our watch, Imo
became safe with our systematic approach to securing lives and property.
All these were made possible by your prayers, support and
sacrifices. I therefore appeal to all Imolites, especially our teeming
supporters to remain calm and to shun any action that is capable of
resulting in a breach of the peace. We can always have different
parties, but we would have only one Imo State. In the same vein, I urge
you to extend to my successor, the same support you gave to me. It is my
wish that he will continue on the path we had set for the rebuilding of
our state as well as consolidate on the progress and milestones we
achieved.
It is incontrovertible that we ran a good race, fought tough
battles, (including, principalities and powers)and governed the state
well, with the fear of God, accountability, transparency and entrenched
due process. We, however, take solace in the book of Ecclesiastics 3:1,
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
heaven”.
We step aside with implicit faith in the Sovereign Lord who reigns over the affairs of men.
Thank you.
Imo bu nke anyi.
Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, CON.