By Anthony Isaac
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Uche Secondus led other party officials and supporters on protest against the Supreme Court judgment that removed its candidate as the governor of Imo State.
The Supreme Court had on Jan. 14, 2020 sacked Mr Emeka Ihedioha of PDP as Imo governor and declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, as the duly elected governor.
The judgment has angered the opposition party and has divided opinions across the country.
The PDP has called for the review of the judgment by the apex. The protest started at the PDP’s Legacy House to the Three Arms Zone.
Speaking during the protest, Secondus claimed that the Supreme Court had misfired as the figures that gave Gov. Hope Uzodinma victory were “not adding up”.
He said the protest was to demand that the Supreme Court reverse its judgment which removed Ihedioha as the governor of Imo.
The PDP leaders and supporters, he said, were out for a peaceful, nonviolent protest to show they are all Nigerians, describing PDP as “the most peaceful party, the largest party and well organised party in Africa”.
He said: “I want to congratulate you all for coming from all the nooks and crannies of this country, peacefully, to register our protest. We are here, under one God, under one nation; our nation is under the rule of law.
“We are a nation governed by law; therefore, all we are seeking today is for our very highly respected jurists at the highest court of the land to be just. We are not against you, we are against the error. And by the special grace of God, I know you will revisit the error.
“All we are saying is for you to review this error because the figures are not adding up. We, therefore, call on the leadership of the judiciary to please note that we are all human beings. God is the highest.
“We know that they worship God, all of us worship God, to revisit and reverse the Imo State judgment because we believe that the figures are not adding up,” he said.
The former Governor of Anambra, Mr Peter Obi, on his part, said he was not just speaking as member of PDP, but also as a beneficiary of the right thing done by the party during its 16 years administration.
Obi, the running mate to Atiku Abubakar in the last Presidential election, recalled how he was a member of a minority party (then APGA) and he won election, went to court and PDP did not intervene.
He added that Mr Adams Oshiomhole, former Edo governor and National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress couldn’t have been governor, or beneficiary of judiciary, if PDP had intervened.
“So as a beneficiary, I am appealing to the judiciary to save this country. What happened in Imo State is enough to kill our democracy.
“Let us ensure that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man,” Obi said.
Also speaking, the Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the only message of PDP was that the judgment should be reviewed as figures were not adding up.
