A day after the Supreme Court ousted him from office, immediate past Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha has condemned the judgement as unfair, unjust and does not reflect the voting that took place during the elections.
Ihedioha made the disclosure in a statement signed by him in Owerri on Wednesday, in which he highlighted his modest achievements in the seven months in office, and vowing not to take away whatever government property or money in his care as he hands over to his successor, Hop Uzodinma.
He said: “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”.
According to him, in the last seven months, his team “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”, saying “God knows why he has allowed this current state of affairs”.
The former lawmaker stated that he alongside his Deputy, Engr Gerald Irona will always cherish the tremendous goodwill and support Imo people gave them as they grappled with setting up a new administration to rebuild a state that was devastated by bad governance.
He lamented that the mandate given to them has been “truncated and cut short by the Supreme Court, in contravention of the will of the people”, saying “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”.
Further, he said they had put up machinery 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”, he stated.
He however warned all former appointees in his cabinet to immediately hand over all government properties in their custody saying he will not be party to any form of pilfering.
The former Governor thanked Imo people for the massive support they enjoyed within seven months, saying under their watch, “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”.
Ihedioha appealed to Imo people to remain calm and 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.
This is even as he appealed for the same support for the new Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, saying that “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”.
