Full Statement By Emeka Ihedioha After Supreme Court Decision

Emeka Ihedioha

Dear Ndi Imo and fellow Nigerians,

On Tuesday 3rd March 2020, the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave a ruling rejecting our application to set aside its earlier judgement of 14th January 2020 on the Imo State governorship election. This is certainly not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for and I know how disappointed you must feel. While it is disheartening to note that your desire to introduce good governance has been halted, at least for now, it is also gratifying that our modest efforts have not gone unnoticed. I, therefore, feel a sense of pride and gratitude for the wonderful energy and commitment that we deployed together to secure the mandate that has now been brazenly stolen from us.

Permit me to use this opportunity to thank all those who played one role or another in this historic quest for justice and truth. I must thank members of the diplomatic community for voicing their concerns for the stability of our country. I commend the Chairman and Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for their vanguard role and leadership during this period. 

In particular, my special thanks go to all Imo citizens for their uncommon support, solidarity, and collective outrage. Never have people been so united and committed to a cause. You prayed, fasted, marched, protested and even cried. You sacrificed your time, resources, and endeavour for this just cause. On this matter, the people of Imo State collectively rose to demand for justice and fairness. Imo people rose up in defence of their right to elect leaders of their choice. Our people resoundingly rejected oppression and power grab, defied imposition, injustice and tyranny. I salute Imo people for this display of courage in the face of oppressive state power.

I will forever be in the debt of Nigerians of all walks of life, across ethnic, religious and political divides, senior citizens, journalists, civil societies, ordinary men and women of good conscience, who added their voice to condemn the injustice done in our case. These are people unknown to me personally but who could not bear the illogic of turning number four to number one on the basis of a fraudulently procured result, and appealed to the Supreme Court to save itself and our judiciary. 

Whatever may be the personal injury I suffer as a result of the miscarriage of justice, my main concern in this whole tragic episode is not about me. It has always been about the implications this judgement could have for the future of our democracy and the right of the electorate to have their votes count. If institutions that are critical to the entrenchment of the rule of law could thwart the wishes of the people in a cynical manner, where lies the future of our democracy? That was why I sought a review of the Supreme Court judgement. Even though justice was not served at the end, the well-articulated dissenting judgement delivered by His Lordship, Justice Centus Nweze, has vindicated our stand. I am sure that history and posterity will be kind to him.

To those who are rejoicing about their successful political fraud at the expense of Imo people, as well as their collaborators, let me leave them with the immortal words of the late journalist, Dele Giwa: “No evil deed will go unpunished; any evil done by man to man will be redressed; if not now then certainly later; if not by man, then by God for the victory of evil over good is temporary’. We believe that God will render the ultimate judgment. He has been with us through this peaceful struggle. And our future is in His hands.

In conclusion, I wish to express my appreciation to members of our legal team who pushed the frontiers of electoral jurisprudence to advance our constitutional democracy. I wish also to thank my team of committed colleagues who served in various capacities during our administration. It has been a great privilege to serve the people of Imo State as Governor. I am proud to have been the recipient of their genuine mandate. I will forever cherish the support, solidarity and cooperation given to me during my tenure. My belief in the ultimate triumph and supremacy of the will of the people remains intact. I pray God to bless and reward all those who stood firm on the path of justice and fair play.

On a personal note, I accept trials and difficulties as part of life as they enable one to become wiser and more sympathetic to the plights of others in similar circumstances. But I am firmly resolved NEVER to give up on the struggle for a better Imo State. And for a better governed Nigeria. May God bless Imo State and the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

Thank you and God bless.

IMO GUBER: PDP's Journey From The Streets to Supreme Court

BY ONYEKACHI EZE

OWERRI (NEW TELEGRAPH)--After series of street protests and visits to embassies, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) finally approached the Supreme Court, seeking a reversal of the judgement that sacked Emeka Ihedioha as Imo State governor, ONYEKACHI EZE reports...

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, was careful in his choice of words, when he addressed party members and supporters during a rally in Abuja on January 20, following the Supreme Court judgement that sacked Emeka Ihedioha as governor of Imo State.

The PDP national chairman had earlier disclosed the party’s intention to seek a review of the judgement. And he was careful not to offend the jurists when the party eventually files its petition for a review. That was why he told party supporters during the rally that PDP was only against the error observed in the judgement, but not the justices.

His words: “We’re not against you (Supreme Court justices), we’re against the error and by the special grace of God, I know you will revisit the error. All we are saying is that for you to review this error because the figures are not adding up.

“We, therefore, call on the leadership of the judiciary to please revisit and reverse the Imo State judgement because we believe that the figures are not adding up. That’s why we’re here, so that the world will hear us. We are a democratic nation, and therefore, all democratic nations of the world are hearing us – United States, United Kingdom, even the United Nations, the African Union and ECOWAS.

“We believe that people at the highest court of the land will hear our cry and revisit, review, and if possible, reverse, the judgement. This is time to show courage.”

The error in the judgement, according to the party was that the apex court inadvertently increased the number of votes in the March 9, 2019 governorship election, by 127,209 votes.

The number of accredited voters was 823,743, out of which, 739,485 was votes cast while 25,130 was cancelled votes, leaving 714,355 as valid votes. But with the addition of 127,209 to Uzodinma’s 96,458 votes (whom the Independent National Electoral Commission, said came fourth in the election), the total number of votes in the election increased to 950,952.

PDP said it “is highly irrational, unfounded, a provocative product of executive manipulation and a recipe for crisis, which should not be allowed to stand.”

The party added: “With the verdict, the Supreme Court executed a coup against the PDP and the people of Imo State as well as other Nigerians, and such must not be allowed to have a place in our democracy.”

On the heels of the judgement, PDP supporters had embarked on street protests. From Owerri, the Imo State capital, to Taraba, Anambra, Sokoto and others, the party mobilised its members and sympathisers to march against the judgement.

The party’s leadership, apart from staging the Abuja rally, also went to the embassies of the United States and France as well as the British High Commission, to submit a petition. It was equally at the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) headquarters in Nigeria for the same purpose.

But on February 5, the party and its candidate (Ihedioha) formally filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, asking it to review the January 14 judgement.

Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), Nigeria’s former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, who filed the appeal on their behalf, prayed the court to declare as “nullity the judgement delivered by this Honourable Court on the 14th of January 2020, in Appeal No. SC.1462/2019 and Cross Appeal No. SC.1470/2019.”

Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, is the first appellant/respondent, while the All Progressives Congress (APC) and INEC are the second and third appeallants/respondents, respectively. Ihedioha and PDP are respondents/applicants.

Governor Uzodinma has as well, filed a cross appeal, asking the court to dismiss the PDP petition on the ground that it is status barred. He argued that the window allowed by law for election petition has elapsed.

PDP and Ihedioha, in their motion on notice, argued that the Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to declare Uzodinma as elected in “an election petition which was based on two inconsistent and mutually exclusive grounds, to wit, (i) that the 1st Applicant was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election, the implication of which is that the majority of votes cast at the election were valid; and, (ii) that the election was invalid for noncompliance with the Electoral Act, the implication of which is that the election be annulled.”

They further argued that the apex court “did not have the jurisdiction to declare the 1st Appellant/Respondent as elected in the absence of any proof that the votes ascribed to him met the mandatory geographical spread stipulated in section 179 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).”

Further, the applicants contended that the Supreme Court “did not have the jurisdiction to declare that the 1st Appellant/Respondent met the constitutional geographical spread without providing in its judgement the reason(s) for that conclusion.

“The fraudulent nature of the additional votes was demonstrated by the fact that total votes cast as shown in the first appellant/respondent’s computation was more than the total number of voters accredited for the election and in some polling units more than the total number of registered voters.

“The fraud was also demonstrated by the fact that the result computed by the first appellant/respondent showed only the votes of the first applicant and the first appellant/respondent without specifying the votes scored by the other 68 candidates who participated in the election.”

To this effect, the applicants urged the court to hold that the judgement of the Court of Appeal, which dismissed Uzodinma’s petition as incompetent, continues to subsist as the appeal against that decision was not considered by the apex court.

The appeal was slated for hearing on February 18, but was later shifted to March 2, to allow both the respondents and applicants file their responses and replies.

The applicants are contesting the results from 388 polling units, which the Supreme Court relied on to declare Uzodinma winner of the March 9, 2019 governorship election. This amounted to 213,495 votes, which APC and Uzodinma believed, were unlawfully excluded from their votes during the election.

But PDP argued that exhibits 63RD1 to 63RD19 (which is INEC Forms EC40G) showed that there were no valid elections in the 388 polling units. INEC had told the court that the result from the 388 polling units did not originate from it.

The party’s argument on spread was that even if Uzodinma’s votes were allowed to stand, he did not get the spread in the required number of local government areas in Imo State.

To be declared governor of a state, section 179 (2) of the constitution stipulates that in addition to winning the highest number of valid votes cast in an election, the candidate must also secure 25 per cent of votes in two-third of the local government areas in the state.

Imo State has 27 local government areas. Two-third therefore is 18. PDP’s argument is that Uzodinma has spread in only two local governments, and could not be declared winner because he lacks the required spread.

But some advocacy groups argued that the court should rather order a rerun between the two political parties that have the highest number of votes (PDP and APC) since neither Uzodinma nor Ihedioha met the required spread. While Uzodinma has spread in only two, Ihedioha met the spread in 14 local government areas.

This is not the first time the Supreme Court is being asked to review its judgement. As a matter of fact, the apex court was approached on a number of occasions, asking it to review its earlier judgements. One of the most celebrated is the Johnson v Lawanson of 1970s. This was a case involving Kobina Johnson vs Irene Lawanson and others.

The Supreme Court, upon a request for review, regretted its earlier position that for a deed to be relied on by section 129 of the Evidence Act, it must be 20 years old at the date of proceedings. This was reversed to be 20 years old at the date of the contract.

Justice Coker who delivered the judgement, held that “when the court is faced with the alternative of perpetuating what it is satisfied is an erroneous decision which was reached per incuriam and will, if followed, inflict hardship and injustice upon the generations in the future or of causing temporary disturbances of rights acquired under such decision, I do not think we shall hesitate to declare the law as we find it.”

Consequently, the Supreme Court ordered that the appeal be re-heard by another panel of the justices of the Supreme Court.

PDP’s lawyer, in his final submission, reminded the jurists that “never in the history of this court have your lordships delivered a judgement which evoked the protest of the public. This one has. Therefore, we urge you, we appeal to you to take a second look at it.

“There is no doubting the fact that your lordships, being human, will from time to time fall into error. Prove to the world that when that happens, you will not lack the courage to correct yourselves. That is the unique opportunity that this case offers you.”

He further cited the case of Adegoke Motors v. Adesanya, where the Supreme Court stated that “it is far better to admit an error than to preserve an error.”

PDP is asking the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mohammed Tanko and six other justices, who delivered the January 14 judgement, to recuse themselves from the panel that would review the judgement.

The party said its demand was based on Section 36(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which guarantees fair hearing to every citizen or entity in the determination of his rights or obligations.

“Furthermore, the time honoured and tested principles of natural justice, particularly that no man shall be a judge in his own cause is particularly relevant to this solemn request.

“Allegation of bias or likelihood of bias goes to the root of fair hearing. Denial of right to fair hearing is a logical consequence of bias in any proceeding before a court or a tribunal,” PDP argued.

IMO STATE: Ihedioha And The Demand Of History

Emeka Ihedioha. Image: Twitter

BY OKEY IKECHUKWU

Today, the Supreme Court stands on what may well be the precipice of a probably unprecedented judicial challenge. This is with reference to the planned review of its own judgment regarding the last governorship elections in Imo State. So we must urge their Lordships to remember the words of Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minister, who said: “To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.” The type of special moment Churchill had in mind stands before the Nigerian judiciary and judicial system today. To make this their finest hour is the demand of history.

All hell broke loose when, a few weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the governor of Imo State, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, be stripped of the Certificate of Return given to him as the duly elected governor and that Chief Hope Uzodinma, the person who came fourth in the said election, be given the Certificate of Return and summarily sworn in as the duly elected governor.

Eminent lawyers, political party faithful, sundry commentators and even freelance grumblers joined issues – even if repetitively so. Protest marches decorated the national landscape. Then, quite unexpectedly, the apex court indicated its willingness to review the judgment. This commendable move remains a decent, dignified and mature stepping forth to take a second look at a case on which it had already made what would ordinarily pass for a final pronouncement.

The Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the learned justices of the apex court should be understood here to be saying to Nigerians that infallibility resides with Divinity alone, as an inherent and inalienable attribute. It does not inhere in human beings, does not reside with men and cannot be successfully simulated by men. Thus their Lordships must, first, be seen to have moved up the ladder of judicial propriety. By so doing, they have also given many people a much-needed emotional respite. The decision to review the case has also tempered the distemper of many whose strident criticism of the apex court verges on the hysterical.

Regarding the criticisms, and this is a slight diversion from our main concern today, it must be said that some of the criticisms have become so tiresome, threadbare and coarsely inelegant that one is sometimes not patient enough to wade through the vituperations to find the substance. Matters have not been helped by the plethora of political cases all over the place. We may recall, for instance, that the PDP cried until it ran out of tears, when its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, lost at the Supreme Court. The court was (rightly or wrongly) accused of bias and of being a stooge of the ruling party. But the same PDP had celebrated when the APC lost its struggle to field candidates in Zamfara State, all the way to the Supreme Court. The court was not denigrated at all as beholden to the PDP. The story was the same when the APC and Rotimi Amechi, a politician who is largely responsible for over 105% of his political and personal problems, were worsted by the courts. It was inauspicious then to speak of partisanship.

Coming back to the matter at hand, there are currently diverse views on what the Supreme Court should do, or not do. My hope and prayer is that the court comes out with a decision their Lordships can proudly recommend to their children, their grandchildren, to students of law and to posterity. This is a critical case; and for a nation in critical times, standing on slippery slopes of morality in leadership and facing very critical challenges on all fronts. The hunger and anger in the land have fuelled comprehensive distrust of all institutions of state. Ours has become a nation wherein citizens live silently with the quiet certainty and conviction that the average (not every) public office holder is either an outright looter, or at least a person of dishonest means who has escaped the long arms of the law. We live in such trying times, wherein misconduct is made to look very attractive by those who ought to take the lead in guiding society unto the path of moral rectitude. It is against the background of the foregoing considerations that the Supreme Court must exercise the greatest circumspection in the matter at hand. This is the demand of our history today.

I am not from Imo State, but I have said enough about that state on these pages for any observer to note my interests and concerns for good governance in that endowed state. Yes, I confess to having had a healthy contempt for the immediate past government of the state before Ihedioha. Yes, I saw and still see, the great gains of the short, and interrupted, tenure of Emeka as the first real attempt to bring Imo people together, with genuine, people-based, Ikwu-na-ibe notions of leadership and development. I make no apologies about my perception of Ihedioha as having begun to dispel the odour of unsanctity surrounding leadership, governance and service delivery in Imo State before the court judgment. I suggest, and insist, that he brought something that had been largely missing since the days of the late Sam Mbakwe and the likes of Peter Obi as governors in the South-east.

Part of what Emeka brought, and which is in danger of being blown away by Ndi Omekome, is the idea of leadership as service to the people. Not the award of contracts to the elite for kickbacks, in addition to the promotion of never-do-wells into prominence, no. It was service, “for the good of the people, according to their known and accepted norms, and in the promotion of their short, medium and long term interests.”

In those few months, Ndi Imo had the heartwarming experience of seeing a governor who went about conducting government business with calm clear-headedness and unaffected diligence. They beheld someone who came to lead and to offer succor by placing all the cards on the table and asking them to join him so that they could collectively regain and restore their pride as a people. By inviting, deploying and making the best of the state’s rich human capital he was already creating a new reference for the teeming youths, before the Supreme Court judgment.

The contrast between his short stint and the eight years of tomfoolery that preceded him explains why everyone was ready to work with him. The people simply heaved a sigh of relief. This includes the repentant, and perhaps not so repentant, participants in the eight-year leadership dance of shame that preceded his assumption of office. But one thing stood out: he removed the debauchery that had taken violent possession of that endowed state. It is true that the conduct of some Members of the Imo State House of Assembly after the court judgment leaves a big smear on the celebrated rebirth. Yes indeed, it does. But that only shows that some people are still what they were. To take that too hard, or make it a basis for the permanent stigmatisation of the political turncoats, is to overlook the fact that not all are initially guided by deep conviction in all that they do.

But no one must lose sight of the fact that the virtues, and even performance of Ihedioha in office are not matters to tender in a court of law, especially the Supreme Court. They are, at best, subject declarations of preferred values and a cheerful display of ones loyalties with regard to what one would like to see in Imo State. So one does not expect that the Supreme Court that withdrew his certificate on technical grounds will re-award same on the bases of some beautiful prose on his leadership qualities. No. Not at all! It is now a matter of law. But not banal law. It must be law taken new levels of jurisprudential excellence, to the much higher calling that beckons on the ultimate spirit of the law (all rational law) to deliver the type of justice that will resonate with our true humanity. Which is why the Ihedioha appeal that was called up and then adjourned to the second day of March imposes some great demands, based on our recent judicial history. It is the demands ancient jurists would say are imposed on every juror of repute, who does not wish to do anything that is “repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience.”

Whichever way the matter goes subsequently, and I hope it goes in favour of those who have argued, stridently, that it beats logic to have a man declared winner in an election wherein the total votes cast exceeds the number of those accredited to vote on the election day, the leadership of the judiciary deserves commendation for reopening this vexatious matter. Those who argue a constitutional restraint on the apex court against reviewing its own case overlook one simple and straightforward fact. That fact is that it is the judiciary that is charged with interpreting the constitution, interpreting all made laws and determining whether any made law, or pretense at law making, can pass muster.

In showing a preference for a return to the status quo ante, one has nothing whatsoever against the gentleman who inherited for the time being the title of governor of Imo State, conferred on him by the Supreme Court judgment. I have known him for as long as I have known Ihedioha, but my position on who I would rather see in the Imo State Government House is personal; and borne of personal certainties about what the state – and Ndigbo- will gain with Ihedioha as governor of Imo State.

SOURCE: THIS DAY

Why Your Judgment Is Fraud, Ihedioha Tells Supreme Court

Emeka Ihedioha

BY GODWIN TSA

The sacked governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, has predicated his motion urging the Supreme Court to set aside its January 14, 2020 judgment that ousted him from office on the ground that it was fraudulently obtained by the incumbent governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma.

The apex court had in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun removed Iheadioha from office and ordered that Uzodinma of the All Progressive Congress (APC) be sworn in as the validly elected governor of Imo State.

But in a motion on notice filed pursuant to section 6(6) of the 1999 constitution, section 22 of the Supreme Court Act, 2004, and the inherent jurisdiction of the court, the former governor has asked the court to review it’s judgment on the ground that it was obtained by fraud.

The motion which was filed by the legal team of the former governor headed by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN) was in respect of appeals Nos: SC. 1462/2019; SC/1470/2019; CA/OW/GOV/05/2019and petition No: EPT/GOV/IM/08/2019, between Senator Hope Uzodinma, All Progressive Congress (APC) and Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It is the contention of Ihedioha that the judgment is a nulity as it was obtained by fraud.

On this ground, Ihedioha submitted that “the Appellants/Respondents (Uzodinma), fraudulently misled this court into holding that a total of 213,495 votes were unlawfully excluded from the votes scored by the 1st Appellant/Respondent in the election.

He further submitted that “the 1st Appellant/Respondent admitted under cross-examination that he was the person (and not the 3rd Respondent [INEC] or any of its officials) who computed the result that gave him the 213,495 votes alleged to have been excluded from his total votes in the election.

“The fraudulent nature of the additional votes was demonstrated by the fact that the total votes cast as shown in the 1st Appellant/ Respondent’s computation was more than the total number of voters accredited for the election and in some polling units more than the total number of registered voters.

“The fraud was also demonstrated by the fact that the result computed by the 1st Appellant/Respondent showed only the votes of the 1st Applicant and the 1st Appellant/Respondent without specifying the votes scored by the other 68 candidates who participated in the election.”

He told the apex court that the fraud was further demonstrated by Exhibits 63RD1 to 63RD19 (INEC Forms EC40G) which show that there were no valid elections in the 388 polling units where the additional 213,495 votes claimed by the 1st Appellant/Respondent were allegedly generated.

Another reason to set aside of the judgment is that it was given per incuriam.

He stated that by Exhibit A1 (Form EC8D) the total number of voters accredited for the election was 823,743 while the total valid votes cast was 731,485.

The applicant contended that “with the inclusion of 213,695 votes for the 1st Appellant/Respondent and 1,903 to the votes of the 1st Applicant, as ordered by this court, the total number of votes cast at the election now stands at 953,083 (i.e. 731,485 + 213,695 + 1,903) making the total number of votes far in excess of the total number of voters accredited for the election, 129,340.

He submitted that it is unlawful for the total number of votes cast in an election to exceed the number of accredited voters and that illegality rendered the judgment sought to be set aside null and void.

The applicant argued that the Appellants/Respondents pleaded in paragraph 39 of their petition that a supplementary election should be conducted in the 388 polling units where the additional votes that created the illegality were alleged to have been cast and that pleading was binding on the Appellants/Respondents and the court.

SOURCE: SUN NEWS

IHEDIOHA: Senator Enyinnana Abaribe Warns Of Imminent Collapse Of Agencies Of Democracy If

Enyinnaya Abaribe. Image: Twitter

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Senate Minority Leader, has reacted to the Supreme Court ruling that sacked Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the Governor of Imo State.

He warned against an imminent weakening of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and some critical agencies of democracy.

Abaribe pointed out that if the present trend like the Supreme Court ruling that removed Ihedioha continues, agencies of democracy would collapse.

The lawmaker and chieftain of the PDP said n a statement on Friday in Abuja signed by his Media Adviser, Uchenna Awom.

He called on the PDP not to despair over the court’s decision declared Senator Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress as the Governor of Imo State. .

He said, “What it means is that results from security agencies like Civil defense, Army, Navy and even community ones like Hisbah, JTF, et al, will be more sacrosanct and acceptable than the official INEC tabulation.

Abaribe said that the painful outcome of the legal process has again raised poignant questions that should ignite serious calls for total reforms of the electoral and governance structures in Nigeria said that the stark reality in the circumstance that the Supreme Court is the final arbiter and its decisions must be respected at all times.

The Abia-born lawmaker cried out that the contradictions in the final analysis, especially when the statistics of who-got-what in the State Assembly among the various political parties is put side by side in the result that was recorded the same day with the gubernatorial election.

Abaribe added, “How many House of Assembly members in Imo State did APC produce in the Election that was held on the same day as this governorship election in question? Can someone refresh us…?

“PDP won 13 seats, AA 8, APGA 6, and APC won 0 seats out of a total of 27 seats.

“And now by this Judgement, the APC that did not win any seat in the House of Assembly in the election that was held and collated the same day ..won the Imo State Governorship Election at the Supreme Court. APC should not gloat.

“These are times that make hearts and will falter. But as the Holy book says …this too shall pass away. For our friend and brother Emeka Ihedioha, courage is the name. This will also pass away.

“Your valedictory speech is heartwarming. It shows that there will be a rosy tomorrow from today’s despondency.

“For all of us in the PDP, this is not a time for blames. When men are bent on evil, they will not stop, but ultimately the will of the people shall prevail.”

SOURCE: THE NIGERIAN VOICE

I Will Respect Independence Of Imo Judiciary ― Ihedioha

Emeka Ihedioha

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

OWERRI, IMO STATE (VANGUARD)--Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State, weekend, reiterated his campaign promise to “respect and uphold the independence of the State Judiciary”. Ihedioha, who stated this when he swore-in nine new Judges in Owerri, also reassured the citizenry that his administration would religiously stick to the rule of law.

“It is not in doubt that the twin factors of Independence of the Judiciary and full observance of the rule of law, are the panacea for good governance. This administration will observe and respect all of them”, Ihedioha said. While saying that “the three arms of government must coexist as separate organs of government independently, but collaboratively,”

Ihedioha equally disclosed that his administration has maintained a symbiotic relationship with other arms of government, assuring that plans were in top gear, to enhance the status of the judicial system in the State after several years of palpable neglect. “We have reconstituted the Judicial Service Commission. We have started the renovation of the Judges Quarters. We have also ensured payment of salaries and allowances of Judges as at when due and provided official guards for them”, Ihedioha said. He explained that his administration achieved these feats within a short period of time, despite the prevailing financial constraints. The Governor revealed that, of the 33 Judges recommended for an appointment across the federation by the National Judicial Council, NJC, nine Judges, the highest, was approved for Imo State. “The NJC approved nine Judges for Imo State, which is the highest, trailed by Rivers State, which got approval for four Judges. This is a testimony of our unwavering resolve to entrenching the tenets of rule of law in our State, which can be achieved with an efficient and formidable judiciary”, Ihedioha said.

He recalled steps taken by his administration on assumption of office to boost the State judiciary, which led to the appointment of magistrates, Inspectors of Court, bailiffs and other judicial staff. While noting that these measures were taken to ensure an effective justice delivery system in the State, the Governor advised the new Judges to discharge their duties fairly and ensure they do justice to all manner of people without fear or favour. Speaking earlier, the Chief Judge of Imo State, Justice Paschal Nnadi, said “Governor Emeka Ihedioha has revitalized the Judiciary in the State, and this has translated to numerous gains to the judicial system, including expeditious handling of cases”, Justice Nnadi said. He expressed gratitude to the Governor for “rejuvenating the judiciary and assured that the judiciary in the State, will continue to serve justice to all”. Justice Ihuoma Grace Chukwunyere, who spoke on behalf of the newly inaugurated Judges, assured that they will uphold the law at all times.

Ihedioha: My Target Is To Make Imo Most Viable Economy By 2025

Emeka Ihedioha

BY DAMIAN DURUIHEOMA

OWERRI (THE NATION)--Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has said that his efforts at rebuilding the state were targeted at making Imo to be one of the top most developed states in the country in five years time.

Ihedioha also said that within seven months in office, his administration had been able to restore effective budget presentation, reduce cost of governance, embarked on extensive road rehabilitation projects, deployed technology as an enabler for effective service delivery and carried out broad reforms in the state civil service.

“About the same period also, Imo State was appraised the Best Overall Performing State in ICT Development by the National Council on Communication and Digital Economy. Our comprehensive effort to deploy technology as an enabler for effective service delivery is yielding positive results. We have carried out trainings of our youths and

women, set up two ICT hubs in the state while the Digital Imo Project is on course”.

He added that another dimension in his administration’s reform process was that “we have revitalized the Local Governments for optimal performance. Today, they are receiving their full statutory allocations directly. Under our constitutional oversight, our 27 Local Governments are constructing standard secretariat buildings to provide adequate accommodation and conducive working environment for workers”.

Ihedioha told the stakeholders that his administration was poised to achieve food security and agricultural revolution in the State in line with its stated policy.

He said, “We launched a Youth-in-Agriculture programme and have

trained over 600 youths in various forms of agricultural production and agro-business skills. The Rice Mill in Ihitte- Uboma has been revived with Arondiuzogu mills coming up next January. This Christmas, many homes in Imo State would be eating rice planted, processed and packaged in Imo State.

The state’s ADAPALM is being revived while we have brought a viable investor for the Avutu Poultry Farm.”

IMO STATE: Stakeholders Lament Politicians’ Penchant For Denigrating Court’s Verdicts

BY CHARLES OGUGBUAJA

Recently, the Court of Appeal sitting in Imo State validated the election of Governor Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, there are disturbing moves by the parties to discredit the judiciary. Although, there is still room for appeal as the Supreme Court is expected to fix a date for hearing of appeals on the Imo State Governorship election, politicians’ penchant to denigrate the judiciary each time a court’s decisions do not favour them has drawn condemnations from stakeholders across political and legal spectrums.

Governor Emeka Ihedioha’s opponents are praying the Supreme Court to overturn the judgments of the Imo State Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal judgment that upheld his victory in the March 9 election.After a keenly contested election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the election.

The returning officer, Francis Otunta, said Ihedioha polled 273,404 to beat his closest rival, Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance (AA), who polled 190,364. Ihedioha won in 11 of the 27 local government areas, defeating about 69 other candidates.The other major candidates included former Senator Ifeanyi Araraume of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), who polled 114,676 votes, Senator Hope Uzodinma of All Progressives Congress (APC), who garnered 96,458 votes, and former governor Ikedi Ohakim of Accord Party (6,846 votes).

The Returning Officer declared Ihedioha the winner “having satisfied all the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes.”Dissatisfied with the outcome, Ihedioha’s opponents approached the Election Petition Tribunal to cancel the election on the grounds that he did not meet the mandatory 25 per cent in two-thirds of the 27 local government areas of the state. They also alleged substantial non-compliance with the electoral laws. But both the tribunal on relocation to Abuja, and the Court of Appeal dismissed the cases.

How the courts decided the cases
THE Election Petition Tribunal, chaired by Justice Malami Dogondaji, in a September 21 verdict, held that the petitioners were unable to prove their allegations. It held that the evidence supplied was mainly based on hearsay and that the unlawful exclusion allegation was not proven. Dismissing Uzodinma’s petition, the tribunal held that the results he presented were not recognised by law as they neither emanated from, nor were authenticated by, INEC.

Justice Dogondaji said Nwosu’s application for judgment on admitted facts could not be sustained on the basis that declaratory reliefs were not granted on admitted facts. The tribunal held that Ararume’s expert witness could not be sustained having not participated in the election. It dismissed Araraume’s and Nwosu’s petitions for lacking in merit and for being incompetent.“Failure to discharge the heavy burden of proof makes the petition liable for dismissal and it is accordingly dismissed,” the tribunal held.

Not satisfied, Ihedioha’s opponents proceeded and approached the Court of Appeal, which also dismissed their appeals on November 19. A five-man panel, led by Justice Oyebisi Omoleye, dismissed the appeals on grounds that they lacked merit. The court also awarded N500,000 cost against all the appellants in Ihedioha’s favour. One of the Justices, however, rejected Ihedioha’s cross-appeal and ordered him to pay N1million to Uzodinma and APC. AA’s and APGA’s appeals were unanimously dismissed, but APC’s appeal was decided by a four-to-one verdict (minority judgment).

The Court of Appeal disagreed that the election was marred by corrupt practices, non-compliance with the electoral laws and failure to secure the majority of lawful votes cast. It upheld the tribunal’s findings and conclusions. The appellate court found that Uzodinma, who came fourth, called no witness from the polling units, ward or local government level to prove that Ihedioha did not score 25 per cent of the votes cast in 18 out of the 27 LGAs.

The Court of Appeal discountenanced a set of documents in which he claimed to have scored substantial votes from 386 polling units, but which he alleged were excluded by INEC. The appellate court allowed a cross-appeal to the effect that with respect to Section 179 (3) (4) and (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), only the person who came second in an election can make a case regarding Section 179 (2).

The Section provides: “A candidate for an election to the office of governor of a state shall be deemed to have been duly elected where there being two or more candidates (a) he has the highest number of votes; and (b) he has not less than one-quarter of all the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the local government areas in the state.”Ihedioha’s lawyers had contended that no other contestant in the March 9 election, except Nwosu, was competent to canvass the issue of whether Section 179 was complied with or not. On Ararume, the appellate court agreed with the tribunal’s position on his expert witness. The tribunal had found that the witness had degrees in education rather than in statistics.He relied on Form EC8D, being the overall collation of results by INEC, and not polling units, ward or LGA results, and could not successfully demonstrate how he arrived at his figures from Form EC8D.

Ararume’s other witness, his state collation officer, testified as to events that took place at the polling units in different parts of the state.The tribunal held that his evidence was hearsay and not based on what he witnessed.

Both the tribunal and Court of Appeal disagreed with Nwosu, who came second in the election, dismissing his claims that Ihedioha did not satisfy the requirements of geographical spread as stipulated in Section 179 (2).The section provides: “A candidate for an election to the office of Governor of a state shall be deemed to have been duly elected to such office where …(b) he has no less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election of at least two-thirds of all the local government areas in the state…”

The AA candidate’s witness, a teacher at the College of Agriculture, Ishiagu, Ebonyi State, admitted under cross-examination that the only document he analysed was Form EC8D – the overall INEC-collated result. The tribunal and the Court of Appeal concluded that Nwosu’s “expert” was a mere sympathiser, who was out to support the petitioner’s case rather than help the court arrive at the truth.

The Court of Appeal held that none of the petitioners was able to establish, by credible evidence, that Governor Ihedioha did not meet the requirements of geographical spread as stipulated in Section 179 (2). The courts noted that Araraume did not predicate his original petition on the geographical spread but called for cancellation of the election on allegation of fraud.

It was after Nwosu’s candidacy was nullified on grounds of double nomination that the Senator raised the issue of geographical spread at the Appeal Court. The Court of Appeal cautioned Ararume on the point that he could not present one case at the trial court and an entirely different one on appeal. AA withdrew from the petition, and a high court struck out Nwosu’s candidature, which was upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

Section 221 of the 1999 Constitution provides: “No association, other than a political party, shall canvass for votes for any candidate at any election…”With the Constitution having no provision for independent candidature, observers will be keen to see how the Supreme Court resolves his prayers. The Court of Appeal cautioned Ararume on the point that he could not present one case at the trial court and an entirely different one on appeal.

Ihedioha’s opponents have headed for the Supreme Court on which its decision is being awaited. The appellants are contending that the tribunal and the Court of Appeal failed to adequately address their contentions. The Imo Professional Group, had also faulted both judgments, saying the courts did not do justice.

In an advertorial signed by Dr. Ifeanyi Emeka, the group said: “It is a cardinal principle of law that justice must not only be done, but seen to be done.“The ‘justice’ of the judgment of the Imo State Election Tribunal, chaired by Justice Malami Dongondaji, and the Court of Appeal by five man panel led by Justice Oyebisi Omoleye, can definitely not be seen from the judgment of the courts.”

The group said Ihedioha failed to meet the constitutional minimum requirements of scoring 25 per cent of the votes cast in each of at least the two third of all the Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state.“It, therefore, baffles one’s imagination why and how the ‘Learned Judges’ can find legal reasons to ignore such a brazen wrong against the constitution,” the group said.

But, another group, Imo Leaders of Thought (ILT), has dismissed the position of Imo Professional Group, warning against denigrating the judiciary. ILT comprises former Deputy Governor Ebere Udeagu, former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Engr. Charles Ugwu, former Attorney-General, Prof. Francis Dike, Secretary, Imo State Council of Elders, Chief Peter Mgbenwelu, former military governor of Delta State, Commodore Luke Ochulor and an elder statesman, Chief J. C. Odunna.

To them, the statement by the Imo Professionals “is a direct assault on the integrity of the nation’s judiciary,” adding, “What the authors of the publication attempted to achieve, throughout the 10-paragraph advertorial, was to discredit the learned Judges involved in the matter at both the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal.“We are, however, of the view that this growing penchant to turn the Nigerian judiciary into a whipping boy is something every well-meaning and patriotic Nigerian must rise against.

“Much as we agree that the laws of the land allow citizens the liberty to seek remedies where they are not satisfied with judicial pronouncements, the growing tendency by political litigants to brand every court ruling that is not in their favour as a ‘travesty’, makes a mockery of our collective integrity as a people.” ILT noted that the INEC, in declaring Ihedioha winner, said he satisfied all the requirements of the Electoral Act and the Constitution.

“This means that in the eyes of the law, the result declared by the electoral body was correct, valid and authentic,” ILT stated. “Therefore, the burden of proof to the contrary lies on the petitioners. The electoral laws require that to establish that a person did not satisfy the constitutional requirements as winner of an election, the results will have to be recalculated, beginning from the polling units; the reason being that votes are cast at the polling units.

“But throughout the trial, none of the petitioners was able to provide any new configuration of results from the polling units that could prove what INEC declared wrong. We agree that these three brothers of ours have the right to pursue their cases to the highest level, but the desperation they are manifesting in the matter is a let down to the rest of the people of the state.

“Imolites are amused that these three hitherto mortal enemies, after losing woefully at the Tribunal and Court of Appeal, have proceeded to the Supreme Court as one unit, through a covert blackmail of the entire judiciary, as could be seen from their joint advertorial.“But the people of the state, who voted overwhelmingly for Governor Ihedioha, are undeterred by the fact that the matter at hand is about the requirements of the law and are confident that the judiciary will not be swayed by the paranoia of recalcitrant clansmen.”

However, political watchers have condemned the attitude of politicians in denigrating the judiciary as well as making unfounded allegations when cases do not go in their favour. They want an end to the practice of discrediting judges and casting aspersions on the judiciary.

According to Mr. Ebun Olu Adegboruwa,
‘It is wrong for a party who has lost a case in court to proceed to denigrate the judiciary or castigate the judge. It amounts to contempt of court to subject a judicial officer to ridicule only on account that he gave a judgment that one of the parties considers unsuitable.

“The notion of rule of law is that due process should be followed in all cases and in all circumstances. A situation whereby the judiciary is pilloried for the reason only of judicial exercise does not augur well for our nation.“Constantly criticising the judiciary in the media is to lower the estimation of that noble institution in the eye of the ordinary man and thus reduce the confidence that people have in that organ of government which in turn may lead to lawlessness and resort to self-help.”

For Adegboruwa, it is the duty of everyone to preserve the integrity and authority of the judiciary while also encouraging all judicial officers to decide the cases brought before them according to law and according to their good conscience.In the same vein, former President of Aka Ikenga, an Igbo cultural group, Chief Anayo Uwazurike, condemned the practice, stressing that the situation might arise when a dishonest lawyer collects money from his client, ostensibly to bribe a judge, but pockets the money, which naturally will make the litigant to feel betrayed.He said: “I know that the Court of Appeal descends heavily on a lawyer who denigrates the trial court. The loser may have briefed a lawyer who has a lot of confidence in negative law practice. The line of action is as follows.

“Where the facts are against his client, the lawyer goes for the law. Where both the law and facts are against his client, he goes for judge, through bribery and denigration.“But there are some disgruntled litigants who are so cantankerous that any judgment against them is a reason to badmouth the judiciary. Some even write petitions to the National Judicial Council. Luckily, the NJC will require proof of the accusations. Even some lawyers encourage a losing client to embark on a campaign of calumny.”

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

The Needless Media War Between Okorocha And Ihedioha

BY FRED W. OPARA

The spate of tirade of abuse and antagonism between the immediate past governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, and his successor and former Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, was re-enacted during the assemblage of Igbo leaders of thought and other national leaders in the recent Ahiajoku outing. It reached a damning crescendo when the Imo State Chairman of the Recovery of Government Properties Committee, was allegedly assaulted in the course of duty by supporters loyal to the former governor at his Spibatt Avenue residence, in Owerri. Still in their usual characteristics, the abysmal handling of the imbroglio by the special advisers on media of the duo left much to be desired. The adversarial nature of the conflict which has resulted in growing polarity between their teeming supporters since the coming to power of Ihedioha’s government is traceable to the penchant to bellicosity than approaches to good public relations and crisis management by their special advisers on media.

It is quite unfortunate that most political special advisers on media in Nigeria share the same pedigree with Adolf Hitler’s minister of popular enlightenment and propaganda, Paul Joseph Goebbels, (1897-1945), with their firm grips over the press during and after their principal’s exit from power. It is on record that Hitler’s virulent anti-Semitism stance and World War II atrocities and wickedness in Europe was Goebbels’ irresponsible and malevolent public relations recipe. In trying to defend the indefensible, most public relations practitioners smear unfavourable, indelible, vitriolic publicity not only on themselves but also on the very personality, product or service they are paid to propagate.

It appears that Okorocha and his indefatigable media adviser have succeeded in taking the war of attrition to Ihedioha and his government. The grand ploy is to use the media to advance his cause as a gudgeon of political victimization and vendetta. It should be rightly emphasized that there is nothing wrong for a government that succeeded Okorocha to demand for eight years report on his stewardship in the State he imperiously held sway as a monarch. In exercising his executive authority, the Civil Service, Agencies and Departments of the State were virtually grounded. As a matter of deliberate policy and grand design to short-circuit governmental apparatuses, he failed to carry the bureaucrats along. He claimed to have given Owerri Municipality a facelift, just one out of the 27 Local Governments in a crude oil revenue-earning State. What other good report is he showcasing for the remaining 26 LGAs of the State in terms of Rural Development, Industrialisation, Science and Technology, Youth empowerment and employment, etcetera?

In his style of political administration, even the Legislature was an inconsequential arm of government and he spared no effort in making the elected representatives of the people a ridiculous bunch in the enviable annals of a State known for her robust legislative history. Throughout the duration of his government, he left no one in doubt that members of his cabinet who constituted the executive arm of government were merely used as political pawns in order to give it a semblance of altruistic leadership. In a State providently blessed with world class technocrats and the intelligentsia, it is ignobly on record that executive functions were either performed by his children, son-in-law, and siblings or by himself. For complete eight years, Imo State was governed by arrant guesswork. There was no conceivable Blue Print for its sustainable development. Obviously, where there was no clear-cut planning, it would be Herculean preparing a handover note to a successor since executive portfolios existed notionally. Suffice it to say that every yardstick in the indices of socioeconomic development such as youth employment, rural development, care for the aged through prompt payment of gratuity and pensions, full engagement of the factors of production, qualitative healthcare delivery system, inflow of Foreign Direct Investments, etcetera, were conspicuously non-existent. Even the much touted free education policy which was one of the basic pivots on which his Rescue Mission government was pillared ended up being a monumental failure for lack of qualitative ingredients for its diligent prosecution and sustainability. In Okorocha’s model of free education, unlike that of Lagos State Government where it is working perfectly, the teaching component, being a critical factor in the superlative actualisation of the laudable idea were starved of motivation which is intrinsic to pedagogy thus resulting in the obvious disconnect in the teacher and student relationship.

In the practice of Public Relations, the piper does not dictate the tune and if it is not premised on truth and integrity is bound to backfire. The negative multiplier effect is to the detriment of both the practitioner and his principal. Goebbels and his wife in trying to keep faith with Hitler based on transparent falsehood, took their own lives after poisoning their six innocent children. World War II ended with Hitler committing suicide with his wife, Eva Braun. The watchword of a good public relations practitioner is the adoption of a wide variety of techniques in presenting his employer in a favourable light to the public based on integrity and the absence of which he is very much obliged to throw in his towel for good. Good name is by far better than silver and gold.

A good public relations practitioner with political media advisory portfolio aptly shapes public opinion on major political and social issues with insistence on his principal to be on the side of the people through the provision of democracy dividends. He is not only the eyes and ears of his principal, but also the stand-alone pressure group of the people for the holistic benefit of the stakeholders in the polity. Muckraking in public relations which is exactly the role being played by advisers on media gulps resources. Agencies investigating public office holders in the country should extend same to their muckrakers because to say that they operate on deep pockets is an understatement.

It is quite unfortunate that most public relations team cum special advisers on media for majority of public office holders fail to educate them on the need to make straight their way in their stint as helmsmen eyeing political relevance and elevation.

Opara writes from Lagos

Ihedioha, Imo And The Verity Of Least Corrupt State

Emeka Ihedioha, Imo State Governor

BY WALTER DURU

Two weeks ago, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its Report on the State of Corruption in Nigeria, in which it acknowledges Imo as the least corrupt state in Nigeria. The same report also indicates that Kogi is the most corrupt state in Nigeria.

The NBS report titled “the 2019 Corruption in Nigeria: Pattern and Trends” was published by the NBS in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and UK Aid. The report reads in part: “this second survey on bribery and other forms of corruption, which was conducted in May and June 2019, covered more than 33,000 households across the country, providing data for each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The survey's primary focus is to assess the actual experiences of Nigerians whenever they come into contact with up to 20 different types of public officials.”

Presenting highlights of the Report on Friday, December 6, 2019 at the State House Conference Center, Abuja, Statistician-General of the NBS, Dr. Yemi Kale emphasized that the 2019 report rated Imo State as the least corrupt state in Nigeria, with an aggregate score of 17.6%, followed by Jigawa and Plateau states.

The state-by-state corruption index result of the survey which shows states with statistically significant increase or decrease in the prevalence of bribery also shows Kogi State as the most corrupt state in Nigeria. Kogi is leading in corruption with 48%, followed by Gombe at 43%. The report also suggested that there is a remarkable decrease in the prevalence of corruption in Imo State. In the survey report, Nigerians identified unemployment, insecurity and corruption as the country’s most arduous challenges.

The Big Question to ask though, is, how did Imo rise from the abyss of one of the most corrupt states in Nigeria (under the last administration of Mr. Rochas Okorocha) to become Nigeria's reference point for anti-corruption just within six months of Governor Emeka Ihedioha? How many people have so far been jailed in the state, to instil fear in public servants to have refrained from corrupt practices? How many public office holders in Imo have been paraded for corrupt practices under Governor Emeka Ihedioha? How did all this happen?

Twenty First century approach to fighting corruption does not only entail catching people and throwing them into jail. While that could serve as a deterrent, a more sustainable approach is putting systems and structures in place to discourage and prevent corruption. This has emerged as the strategy being preferred and vigorously pursued by the present administration of Chief Emeka Ihedioha in its drive for probity and accountability in the public space.

When the Imo State Government recently applied to join the Open Government Partnership, Nigeria, many, probably did not understand the implications of attempting to sign onto the OGP. The State has made some key commitments in the area of Open Governance, thus, consolidating the gains already made in entrenching transparency and accountability in governance. Some of the commitments made by the State include: Access to Information, Anti- Corruption, Open Budgeting, Fiscal transparency, Open Contracting and Citizens Engagement.

Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative that focuses on improving government transparency, accountability and responsiveness to citizens through technology and innovation.

For the first time in eight years, Imo State's annual Budget has been published online on the state's official website. This is part of the proactive disclosure obligations of the state government under the FOI Act. This, no doubt is a step in the right direction. Her strides in e-governance are also worthy of mention.

The giant strides of the Governor Emeka Ihedioha-led administration in the areas of ease-of-doing business and open contracting, again, cannot also go without mention.

What about the Treasury Single Account? By signing Executive Order 005, the Government of Chief Emeka Ihedioha and Engr. Gerald Irona activated the Treasury Single Account. The implication is that all revenues accruable to the State are paid into a consolidated account. Many leakages in the state treasury have been plugged, thereby drastically curbing the incidence of diversion of Imo State public funds into private pockets.

The undeniable immediate impact of that singular act is that today, from a paltry N260m, the Imo State monthly Internally Generated Revenue has hit almost a billion Naira, within just six months of Ihedioha's/Irona's ascent to office, without tax increase in tax. The over 250 Bank accounts operated by the last Rochas administration have been collapsed into one, via the TSA.

This same administration has implemented the International Public Sector Accounting Standards- IPSA, aimed at ensuring that the State’s accounting principles and practices conform with global best practices. In addition, an Efficiency Unit has been set up in the Ministry of Finance, which over-arching mandate is to speedily reduce the overall cost of governance.

More so, an ease-of-doing business desk has been set up and an in-charge Officer appointed, with a mandate to ensure the reduction of the turnaround time (TAT) for undertaking lawful and legitimate Government businesses in Imo is reduced.

The vast majority of Nigerian citizens and residents who partook in the NBS Survey identified unemployment as one of the cardinal problems of the state. Although we prefer to defer any discussion of the problem of unemployment to another day, it is pertinent to quickly acknowledge and applaud Government's efforts to date, towards tackling the albatross of unemployment. Principal among these critical interventions is the recent refurbishment and retrofitting of the four moribund technical colleges in Imo state, with a view to promoting technical education in the state, with the knowledge that equipping young people with relevant skills to be productive is a major coup.

As if the aforementioned are not enough, Imo State public pensioners, once abandoned for over six years, and derided across the country are today being rehabilitated and restored by a responsible and sensitive Government on behalf of a grateful populace, and paid what is due them, following a successful verification exercise. From this alone, the State Government has saved at least four hundred million Naira monthly being monies that otherwise would have been lost to ghost pensioners. What more? An aggressive programme of road rehabilitation has been unfurled across the state, especially in the Owerri capital city.

For an Administration that inherited a vast array of public infrastructure in various degrees of collapse and decay; as well as crestfallen, despondent citizenry whose confidence in the institutions of government had sunk to an all-time low; to engender this sphinx-like rise to the apogee of public service honour as the country’s least corrupt state is certainly a study in socio-economic re-engineering. Without a shadow of doubt, many drums of midnight oil; not to mention, many hours per day of tedious work, have gone into achieving the unprecedented milestone. It is a feat worth celebrating by the straight and crooked alike!

Be that as it may, it may not yet be uhuru; ascending to the top is not always as challenging as remaining at the top. Deliberate steps must be taken to not only consolidate the gains made so far, but to ensure that no system or programme, or a combination of same, is permitted to reverse the progress so far made. Imo State must take steps to sustain this feat, as a panacea for progress in the future.

First of all, for transparency, accountability and other good governance features to endure, systems and processes must be put in place to ensure that they are enthroned in every aspect and sector of public service.

The initiative of Citizens Dialogue and other stakeholders’ engagement activities should be intensified and made more regular. Citizens of the state have the right to know what those in authority are doing and how public funds are spent. Regular citizens’ interface is therefore necessary.

In addition, there is an urgent need to set up a "Committee for Transparency in Governance", whose primary mandate would be to ensure effective and holistic coordination of the transparency and other good governance initiatives of the present administration. The set-up of a Center for Transparency and Good Governance in Imo State, complete with its enabling legal framework, will certainly be a helpful and welcome idea to serve as a tombstone denoting the irreversible commitment of the Ihedioha/Irona Administration to accountability, probity and transparency in public service.

This proposed Committee may serve as the clearing house for initiatives aimed at entrenching/mainstreaming transparency in public service in Imo State. The team will set an agenda for issues around transparency and accountability in governance, while identifying other good governance initiatives that will enhance the fortunes of the state.

The foregoing notwithstanding, does Imo State under the present administration deserve to be named the least corrupt state in Nigeria?

Certainly, yes! Governor Emeka Ihedioha’s administration is on the right track towards mainstreaming transparency and accountability in public service in Imo State. His body language, activities, comments, initiatives and actions have never suggested otherwise.

The tempo must therefore be sustained; else public officers and servants will return to their old ways. All Government structures, systems and processes must be strengthened if Imo State must be corruption free.

Let the music play on!!

SOURCE: THE NIGERIAN VOICE

AHIAJOKU: Wise Men From East Brainstorm On Igbo Culture, Development

Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha welcoming guests to the Ahiajoku Lecture. Image: PM Express

BY HENRY AKUBUIRO

OWERRI (SUN NEWS)--The enthusiasm that permeated New Concorde Hotel, Owerri, last Friday, was apparent: truncated dream suddenly rose from the depth of abeyance to embrace a new vista. Amid an art exhibition, the 2018 Ahiajoku Festival, the Igbo cultural and intellectual harvest, made a comeback since 2010. Love and respect for the Igbo man were rekindled.

The roadmap for the colloquium on Day 1 was given by Dr. Amanze Obi, the Director, Ahiajoku Institute, who informed the three presenters that their presentations would focus on the overall theme of the festival – “The Challenge of Leadership in Contemporary Igbo Society”.

Senator Ben Obi, who introduced the Chairman of the day, Professor ABC Nwosu, former Nigeria’s Minister of Health, thanked the Imo State Governor, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha. for drawing a rich audience from the Igbo speaking states of Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, Rivers and Delta, and beyond, to partake in the festival. “That’s a sign of many things to come,” he declared.

Nwosu was humbled to chair the colloquium, for he never lobbied for it. “But I would have lobbied for this one, because Igbo land has lost direction,” he said. He was satisfied, however, with the mantra the state governor had chosen for himself, praying God to guide him.

He added, “You have begun from the right place. You can only rebuild humans that will build society from the mind.” Ahiajoku, he echoed, “represents the potentials of the Igbo man. I salute you for what you have done by resuscitating Ahiajoku.”

He celebrated the ingenuity and industry of the Igbo in surviving against all odds, including pogrom, genocide and unfriendly, post-civil war economic policy by the Federal Government of seizing their money in the bank and handing each depositor a paltry 20 pounds, no matter the savings.

Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa was the first of the three presenters to speak. He spoke on “Aku ruo Ulo: Inventing Political and Communal Leadership in Alaigbo”. For long, he said, Igbo people had bemoaned the rising spate of foreign adventures, developing areas outside Igbo land, yet earning undeserved threats to their lives, and, in many cases, deaths and loss of properties.

He lamented that the entire Southeast, at the moment, had the lowest GDP growth of all the regions in Nigeria due to low investment in the region, submitting that the threat by the Oba of Lagos in 2015 to throw Igbo indigenes into the Atlantic Ocean during the 2015 elections and subsequent and subsisting notices by the Arewa Youths for Igbo settlers to leave the region had been major wakeup calls for Ndigbo to look homewards.

Furthermore, he said the obvious discrimination by this present Federal Government “has added impetus for the need for us to think home and invest home.” Even beyond the borders of Nigeria, “the same message,” he said, “is being sent”, for recent xenophobia attacks in South Africa seem to have affected Ndigbo more than any other Nigerian group.”

The Igbo economy before the civil war, he informed, was the fastest growing, built on agriculture and manufacturing. “We built an industry around coal in Enugu and developed big commercial centres in Aba and Onitsha that distributed the agricultural and manufactured goods from our industries,” he said.

Mazi Ohuabanwa’s speech wasn’t all about painting sad pictures and creating a hangdog air. The pharmacist also proffered solutions. He advised every Igbo businessman outside Igboland, to, within one year, set up an office, a branch, a shop or depot in Igboland to increase employment possibilities in the region.

He, besides, urged Igbo businessmen to give priority to investing in Igboland before putting any investment elsewhere in Nigeria. Over the next three years, he advised Igbo businessmen to transfer the headquarters of their businesses to Igboland while maintaining braches outside Igboland, as ABC Transport, Innoson, Chikason, Ibeto had done.

Responding to the issues raised by the first speaker, Rev. Fr. Chris Ogbonna, said Mazi Ohuabunwa had given all food for thought. For him, the theme of “Aku ruo Ulo” was thought-provoking, nay, “the greatest Aku (wealth) we have in us is human capital.” He moved for leaders who could harness the abundant human capital.

The second speaker, Professor Christian Onyeji, spoke on “Humanity, Sensed Leadership in Contemporary Igbo Politics: Tackling the Challenges.” On one hand, the theme, he said, raised a critical issue of relevance questioning the outcomes, hegemony and direction of existing Igbo leadership methods and their outcomes.” He, therefore, lent support to having Igbo leaders who have the people in mind.

Dr. John Otu, who responded to Professor Onyeji’s presentation as one of the four discussants, said “a time would come in Nigeria when they invite you to be a governor, you will say, ‘No, I am don’t want to be; I am not qualified for that office’; and the time is now.” His position was premised on the fact that oil earnings would soon dwindle and looters would found government positions unattractive, thereby paving way for those with ideas to take the challenge of leadership.”

The third speaker, Chief Osita Chidoka, former Minister of Aviation, focused on “Leadership in Igboland”. He noted that “Igbo people are successful in today’s Nigeria but Igboland is not successful.” He lamented that “our dreams and aspirations have gone low,” compared to the achievements of the Okparas and Azikiwes in the First Republic.

He lampooned Igbo traditional rulers for endorsing bad political leadership for lucre. “I want to assure you that the Igbo man is the future of Nigeria,” he said, nevertheless. Among others, “we are the most socially inclusive in Nigeria.”

The first day ended with a cultural night at Mbari Cultural Centre, Owerri, attended with traditional Igbo performances led by Omenimo and the Saro Wiwa band. But the glow of Ahiajoku thrills wasn’t about to fade yet. Dr. Amanze Obi set the ball rolling the second day at the Ahiajoku Convention, New Owerri, as the Ahiajoku Lecture itself took centre stage, chaired by the Obi of Onitsha, Agbogidi Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe.

“I have a passion for what we are doing today,” said Amanze Obi, former Imo State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, who lamented that the Ahiajoku Lecture series was abandoned by the immediate past administration of Rochas Okorocha for selfish reasons. “Our job is not just the Ahiajoku series; we have a lot of programmes we will run,” he hinted on the enlarged scope of the institute he heads.

Chief Ikedi Ohakim, who chaired the LOC, called on Igbo nation, whether in southeast or in Rivers or Benue to unite. Unlike the former Imo State Governor, Okorocha, who was described by Femi Fani Kayode as an “intellectual barbarian”, the incumbent Imo State Governor, Ihedioha, was lionised for his intellectual bent and visionary leadership by the Obi of Onitsha, in his remarks.

Governor Ihedioha lamented, in his adress, that the last eight years were the beginning of dismantling efforts by the Okorocha administration, and it was incumbent on him to begin a rebuilding process in Imo. He welcomed all to the festival, describing Ahiajoku as “the most cherished Igbo cultural and intellectual summit”, returning “after nearly a decade of abeyance”.

He added, “The 2019 Ahiajoku Lecture certainly marks another milestone in the rebuilding agenda in the present Imo State Government.” He also noted that, “Ahiajoku has remained a unifying essence among Igbo”, with its cultural and intellectual potpourri.

Emeritus Professor Michael Echeruo, who was the inaugural Ahiajoku lecturer in 1979, make history, once again, as he presented the 2019 Ahiajoku Lecture entitled “Ogu Eri Mba: We Shall Survive”, which unearthed, among others, pre-colonial Igbo practices and politics, dispelling spurious Igbo-Jewish connection and x-raying the historical and Achebean explanations of contemporary socio-political convulsions vis-à-vis Ndigbo.

Aside Governor Ihedioha, the 2019 Ahiajoku Lecture was attended by the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu; Akwa Ibom State Governor, Emmanuel Udom; plus representatives of governors of Enugu, Anambra, Enugu, Rivers and Cross River states.

Others were Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Achike Udenwa, Prof I.D. Nwoga. Chief Nnia Nwodo (President, Ohaneze Ndigbo) and Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (former Chief of General Staff under IBB). Also present were royal fathers, including but not limited to the Amanyanabo of Opobo and Eze Samuel Ohiri, Chairman, Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers.

‘Imo No Longer A Laughing Stock’

Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha waves to the crowd upon declaring Free Health Care for children and the elderly. Image: The Governor, May 30, 2019.

BY DAMIAN DURUIHEOMA

OWERRI (THE NATION)--Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha is gradually introducing a new paradigm in the execution of projects and development of the state writes

Before the inauguration of Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha on May 29, the ‘Eastern Heartland’ was seemingly known as a place where absurdities were elevated to statecraft.

The immediate past governor, Rochas Okorocha, on many occasions, proudly declared that his ideas drove him “mad”. He also took delight in the fact that his “madness” worked for him in governing the state in his eight years as its chief executive.

However, since Ihedioha took office, there seems to be a paradigm shift in the governance of the state. In his quest to change the narrative of Imo State and get it working again, Ihedioha has taken bold steps in addressing major challenges bedevilling the state.

Barely six months in office, Ihedioha’s efforts in repositioning the state are yielding the desired impact.

During his campaigns in the run-up to 2019 general elections, Ihedioha promised a better deal and a departure from the past. The governor reinforced this promise when he stated his administration’s willingness to encourage due process and rule of law as well as rebuilding the state.

To fulfil these promises, Ihedioha initiated positive actions in critical sectors. These include power, roads rehabilitation, agriculture, floods and erosion control, security, good governance, education, health, pensions, and civil service.

Governor Ihedioha said he inherited a dysfunctional government where every department of the state was in ruins.

He said, however, that within six months, he has restored sanity in governance and has eased the way the government is run.

He said: “When I came in, the style of governance deviated from every norm, and Imo was the worst run state of the federation. There were institutional and infrastructural disorder and decay. No state had the number of garnishee orders such as Imo; land cases against the Imo government were numerous. The state was sufficiently distracted that we had to spend money hiring lawyers from private firms because the government doesn’t have enough lawyers to prosecute its cases.

“It took me two weeks before I got where to operate from because the Government House was nothing near its name; the judiciary was in bad shape; with the Judges being owed close to 30 months’ salary; promotions and appointments in the civil service were arbitrarily done with the result that the sector collapsed.

“The House of Assembly, which is supposed to be a place of dignity for the state lawmakers is currently debased and in ruins and the lawmakers had no houses to stay.

“We are planning to pull the building down but if we do, it would be misrepresented; so I think we have to rebuild it despite the lean resources at our disposal.

“Go and take a personal look at the building, the infrastructure there has decayed. If the lawmakers are your family members, you cannot allow them to stay there. So, we are thinking of relocating them to another site so that we can rebuild the place.”

He decried the discomfort of the offices of the lawmakers, describing the situation as a shame.

Ihedioha said the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has advised him to evacuate the state lawmakers away to a temporary accommodation to avoid disaster.

The governor, however, has good news for the people as he said that Imo is now on the right footing.

“What we started first was finding men and women of various professional competence to man various sectors of our economy; we also started by fixing our roads,” he said.

According to Ihedioha, his government has already procured a total of 25 road contracts worth over N40 billion. The 25 projects, spread across the state, include the three key exit routes from the state capital – Owerri-Orlu Road, Owerri-Okigwe Road, Owerri-Umuahia Road- all of which are federal roads.

The governor also informed that, away from the practice in the previous administration, no fewer than 16 notable construction companies were on-site in Imo State working on the 25 roads.

According to him, for the first time in eight years, the Ministry of Works had begun procuring contracts.

“Every project we’ve done in Imo has passed through a deliberate and diligent public procurement process,” he said.

He noted that all the affected companies, after due procurement processes, have been mobilised with a 15 per cent retainer.

“For every construction company that is working in Imo State currently, the condition is that we must inspect and evaluate your equipment; the company must open an office in the state and employ Imo citizens,” he said.

The governor added that signposts for the projects with names of the contractors would soon be displayed for public consumption, adding that his interest was to establish good governance through the Bureau for Public Procurement.

“At present, our state is no longer a laughing stock. Imo people now know that they have a governor who talks and works. We are putting a round peg in round holes, while our civil service is now performing well,” he added.

On the introduction of a Single Treasury Account (TSA) in the state, the governor, who justified the policy, said while the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) had increased from N200 million to N877 million, the state was saving the sum of N280 million monthly following the successful verification of pensioners.

The governor, who revealed that the total monthly allocation the state receives stood between N4.8 billion and N5 billion, said the state’s monthly salary, wage and pension bill stands at N2.7 billion and N680 million respectively, just as about N1.5 billion is being deducted monthly from the Federation Account as repayment for the bailout funds given to the state under the Okorocha administration.

In spite of the grim financial condition of the state, Ihedioha insisted that he would not take any loan to prosecute the plethora of projects his administration has so far initiated, nor tamper with the local government funds.

“The only loan I told them to take is agriculture loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria. And anyone who takes and misuses it will spend the rest of his life in jail because the money is meant for agricultural production and development,” he said.

He reiterated his determination to run a transparent government with the principle of separation of power in place.

On the construction of stadia in various local government areas, the governor said the state is set to bid for the national sports festival with over N200 million injected in the renovation of the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri, while modern sporting equipment is being installed to bring the sporting arena to international standards.

He expressed happiness that the autonomy his administration had given to local government areas in the state has started bearing fruits as according to him, life has returned to the rural communities.

“This was actually what I had always wanted for our people in rural communities. I wanted to stop rural-urban migration. I want our people to live in their villages. The liveliness in the local government areas will increase,” Ihedioha said.

Apart from this, he revealed that his administration has huge plans to make agriculture the state’s destination with the ongoing reinventing of Adapalm and Avutu Poultry.

To make this possible, be said, he sent over 500 youths of the state to Nasarawa State to acquire modern agriculture skills that would help them venture into the sector.

Imo Govt Awards N40bn Contracts for Road Rehabilitation

Governor Emeka Ihedioha. Image via This Day

BY AMBY UNEZE

OIWERRI (THIS DAY)--Imo State Government yesterday said it has awarded over N40 billion contracts for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of dilapidated roads in the state, especially the major roads that link the state capital to other zones.

Governor Emeka Ihedioha, who disclosed this at a parley with newsmen in Owerri, said 25 of the road contracts had been awarded with the first 19 road network already completed, while 15 per cent mobilisation fee paid to the contractors as they have satisfied the state’s requirements for the Advance Payment Guarantee (APG).

For the avoidance of doubt on the identity of the contractors, the governor ordered them to mount sign boards indicating names, addresses, etc of the contractors for public consumption, adding that his intention was to establish good governance through the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP).

The governor explained that the commission of inquiry put in place by his administration on contract review and forceful acquisition of lands by the immediate past administration in the state was in response to deluge of petitions by aggrieved individuals.

“We selected professionals, without a single politician as members of the commission. My administration’s charge towards them is to do the needful without fear or favour. I did not set up the committee to witch-hunt anybody. The Bureau for Public Procurement is already working transparently to serve the state well,” he said.

The governor, who justified the introduction of a Single Treasury Account (TSA) in the state, said though the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) has increased to N877 million, Imo State’s monthly wage bill stood at N2.7 billion, just as about N1.1 billion was being deducted monthly from the federation account consequent upon the bailout funds.

Ihedioha added that N280 million was being saved monthly from pension scheme, which was paid to ghost pensioners previously while the monthly payment for pension gulped around N680 million, describing the pension verification exercise as the best thing that happened to the state.

Professing his determination to run a transparent government with the principle of separation of power in place, the governor said 16 companies of high repute are already working in the state, just as 10 youths from each of the 27 local government areas of the state are being trained on batch basis on modern agricultural techniques as part of his administration’s youth empowerment package.

He also explained that Imo State was set to bid for the National Sports Festival with over N200 million injected in the renovation of the Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri, while ultra- modern sporting facilities were being installed to bring the sporting arena to an international standard.

“Without a strong economy, you cannot advance the growth of Imo State and institutional building is about resources,” adding that he’s working round the clock to revamp the state’s education sector and to renovate its decayed infrastructure.

SOURCE: THIS DAY