Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The former governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, has said he has nothing but pity for those celebrating the verdict of the Supreme Court that sacked him as governor of the state.
Ihedioha stated that this is because the judgment is more about the country’s democracy than himself, especially as it is obvious that both the judiciary and the electoral system are on trial.
The former governor stated this on Saturday in Abuja when members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) paid him a solidarity visit.
The Supreme Court had last Tuesday sacked Ihedioha as Imo State Governor and ordered the swearing-in of Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected governor of the state.
Related: Tremor in Abuja as Supreme Court sacks Ihedioha, declares Uzodinma Imo gov
Ihedioha, however, described the judgment as shocking both to himself and several others across the country, as it was never anticipated.
He added that his ouster as governor of Imo State by the apex court remains a mystery, noting that “the elections in Imo were closely monitored, well advertised and everybody in Nigeria followed it through. The results were very clear, the electoral umpire still has the results…”
According to him, “it is not about Emeka Ihedioha. It is not about Imo State. It is about the future of our country and democracy. It’s about what do we do tomorrow. .. I am calm and we are calm, and that is why you see in Imo, there is calmness. The calmness is coming out of shock, it is coming of disbelief. It is coming out of the fact that people are saying, let us still see, can this be possible? We are waiting for answers and I believe there will be answers.
“This is not the time to celebrate. I pity anyone who is celebrating that sad event. If anyone is celebrating, that person is not a student of democracy.”
