In a dramatic turn of events at the ongoing election petition tribunal in Abuja, a key witness for Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma has admitted that there were significant disparities in the number of votes attributed to the governor and the actual number of accredited voters. The witness, Barrister Akolisa, appeared before the panel led by Justice Oluyemi Osadebey and highlighted the discrepancies between the votes recorded for Uzodinma on the election result sheet and the certified Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) report.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had previously declared Uzodinma, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the off-cycle election held on November 11. Uzodinma secured 540,308 votes, while the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Samuel Anyanwu, received 71,503 votes, and Achonu of the LP came in third with 64,081 votes. However, both Anyanwu and Achonu rejected the outcome and have taken the matter to court, asserting that the election results did not reflect the true mandate of the people.
The tribunal also heard testimony from Lillian Ozoemena, the principal of Mgbidi High School, where Governor Uzodinma allegedly obtained his controversial WAEC certificate. Ozoemena presented a rubber stamp, which she claimed was the official stamp of the school, as her proof of identification. However, she failed to provide any evidence to substantiate her claims that Uzodinma had attended the school. Under cross-examination by Senator Anyanwu’s counsel, Ozoemena admitted that she appeared at the tribunal in a personal capacity, contradicting her earlier witness statement.
The tribunal has adjourned the proceedings until April 24, 2024, when both parties will present their written addresses. Anyanwu and the PDP are seeking to have Uzodinma’s Certificate of Return revoked and to have Anyanwu declared as the duly elected Governor of Imo State. They have also alleged that Uzodinma submitted a forged WAEC certificate to INEC in order to qualify for the governorship election.
This is not the first time that questions have been raised about Uzodinma’s educational qualifications. In 2013, Festus Keyamo, the current Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, filed a lawsuit against the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) alleging certificate forgery by Uzodinma, who was then a Senator representing Imo West. Keyamo had requested a Certified True Copy of Uzodinma’s WAEC Certificate and claimed that investigations revealed he did not graduate from Mgbidi Boys’ High School in 1982, as he had purportedly stated.
In a letter addressed to the WAEC Registrar, Keyamo invoked the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and demanded the release of Uzodinma’s certificate within seven days. The allegations of certificate forgery have now resurfaced in the ongoing election tribunal, adding another layer of complexity to the legal battle over the Imo governorship election.