INEC has declared APC’s Uzodimma winner of the Imo governorship election.
Glamtush reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the state governorship election held on Saturday, November 11.
The Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Prof Abayomi Fashina, who was the state Returning Officer declared Uzodimma re-elected on Sunday morning at about 10 am after over eight hours of collation of local government results.
He declared Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the election with 540,308, votes while Samuel Anyanwu of the Peoples Democratic Party came a distant second with a total of 71,503 votes.
Athan Achonu of the Labour Party polled 64,081 votes to come third in the election.
The state’s Returning Officer said, “I, Prof. Abayomi Fasina, I was the Returning officer for the Imo state governorship election held on November 11, 2023. That the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Good Hope Uzodimma, having scored the highest number of votes and satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner of the election and returned elected.”
The results announced by INEC showed that Uzodimma swept all the 27 Local Government Areas of the state.
Uzodimma trounced PDP’s Samuel Anyanwu, Labour Party (LP)’s Nneji Achonu, Jack Ogunewe of the Action Alliance (AA), 14 other opponents.
The APC candidate polled 540, 308 votes to defeat his closest rivals, PDP’s Anyanwu, who scored 71,503 votes and LP’s Achonu who got 64,081.
With this result, Uzodimma will be sworn – in for a second term in office on January 14, 2024.
Earlier, the State Agent of the LP, Callistus Ihejiagwa, was beaten and bundled out of the state Collation centre after he protested the results announced by the Local Government Areas Retuning officers.
He said that the results were manipulated in the favour of the APC candidate.
The state Agent of the PDP, Kissinger Ikeokwu, immediately left the collation centre.
However, PDP and LP had on Saturday night called for an outright cancelation of the poll.
The PDP candidate, Samuel Anyanwu, in a press conference, said that the election was rigged in the favour of Uzodimma.
Also, the deputy governorship candidate of the LP, Tony Nwulu, said that the security agents provided security for INEC staff and APC members to rig the poll.
He said that the position of his party was for INEC to cancel the election.
