- For declaring Ihedioha winner of 2019 guber poll
The Imo State House of Assembly has called for the arrest and prosecution of Professor Francis Otunta, the Returning Officer of the 2019 governorship election in the State.
Professor Otunta is the current Vice Chancellor of the Michael Okpara Federal University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia state.
The State Assembly made the call during its plenary session, in a motion moved on Friday in Owerri.
The lawmakers berated the alleged electoral malpractices which heightened tension in the State, since the Supreme Court sacked Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP and installed Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC as governor.
Ihedioha was declared winner of the governorship election in Imo State.
He polled 273,404 to defeat candidate of the Action Alliance, Uche Nwosu, who polled a total of 190,364 votes.
The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Ifeanyi Ararume came third with 114, 676 votes; Hope Uzondima of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 96,45, while the Accord Party candidate was fifth with 6,846 votes.
Pof Francis Atunta put the total votes at 2,221,008 and the total accredited voters as 823,743.
About 25,130 votes were cancelled across the State with total valid votes as 714,355 while the total votes cast was 739,485.
But a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad, unanimously declared Uzodinma 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 Uzodinma’s scores.
The judge said with the result, the APC governorship candidate polled majority of lawful votes and ought to have been declared winner by INEC.
But, in the motion as moved by the member representing Obowo State Constituency, Hon. Kennedy Ibeh and cosponsored by 20 other members, the Assembly 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.
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, appealed to the ousted governor and PDP supporters to embrace the new government instead of taking to the streets to protest a judgement which, according to him, is final.
- Media Report