More reactions trail Imo verdict as Uzodinma resumes

More reactions trail Anambra verdict as Uzodinma resumes

By Tajudeen Hamzat and Tony Opara

More reactions have continued to trail the Supreme Court verdict on the 2019 gubernatorial polls in Imo State even as the beneficiary of the process, Senator Hope Uzodinma has now formally resumed.

One of the first things done by the new governor upon the handing down of the verdict was his giving an order to all financial institutions where the state funds are maintained not to honour any instruments in the name of the state government until further notice.

A letter addressed to the regional directors and managers of all the financial institutions in Imo State and signed by Cosmos Iwu, director -general of Senator Hope Uzodinma campaign organisation, on behalf of the then governor-elect, ordered the financial institutions to “ post no debit ” on all the accounts .

The letter which was titled , “ Order of post no debit on all accounts of Imo State government effective 14 , January 2020 ” stated that the order was a sequel to the apex court judgment which declared Uzodinma the new governor of the state.

The three – paragraph letter read, “ Following the Supreme Court judgment of 14 , January 2020 , I am directed by his excellency , Senator Hope Uzodinma, to take this as your authority/ instruction to place a post no debit order on all accounts of the Imo state government maintained in your various institutions .

“ You are by this letter directed to comply and await further instructions from the office of his excellency, the executive governor of Imo state . Thanks for your cooperation .”

Meanwhile, Nigerians have continued to respond to the verdict of the Supreme Court panel that had ordered the immediate swearing-in of APC’s Hope Uzodinma as the Governor of the state with some saying that the verdict may have some political undertones.
The Difference correspondent spoke with Pastor Olanihun Zachariah, a political analyst who gave his thoughts on the elections.
He said:

“With the judgement of the Supreme court, the judiciary in the federal republic of Nigeria is totally out of democracy. If the fourth position during the governorship election in IMO state can be declared winner in the supreme court judgement, then the supreme court should be converted to a customary court where the position of the law is always buried under tongue of whosoever gives the judgement.

How on earth will an organ that is so powerful in any democratic nation become a common, uncivilized, uneducated, tool in the hand of public illiterates in dispensing and validating their right of pronouncement vested upon them by the general code of fairness. By what made Nigeria a democratic nation, the supreme court as the determining factor does not have any legal right to give judgment based on the surface and the preambles of any matter.

But if the Imo judgement is hanged on the mango tree and that of Osun state election judgement by the same supreme court is hanged on orange tree. The only thing that we ought to expect on the ground now is coconut or okra. The question now is, if the first judgement is on a mango tree and the second one is on the orange tree and what we are packing is coconut and okra on the ground, on what ground and importance are the judgement on the mango and the orange tree visible to us when what we are packing under the two trees is different from what is on the tree.

On the other hand, another political analyst, Prince Ayomide Adesina has a different view on the judgement, he said:

‘Well,to me, it wasn’t strange to me. It’s a jubilation for rule of law. It’s an affirmation that our judicial system is very objective. Rule of law has come to stay in Nigeria. Judiciary is indeed the last hope for a common man.’