Governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Emeka Ihedioha, has emerged winner of the election held on March 9.
He beat 69 others to clinch the keenly contested position.
The Returning Officer for the state, Prof. Francis Otunta, the Vice Chancellor of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, declared him winner after announcing the final results at the Imo governorship election collation centre in Owerri, the state capital late Monday night.
Recall that the collation of results had been interrupted in the early hours of Monday morning when an angry agent of the PDP, Uche Onyeagocha had torn the result sheet for the Ideato South Local Government Area of the state.
His action had angered the agent of another party, who subsequently tore some other result sheets. Order was however restores and the collation went on peacefully.
According to the final results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Ihedioha won in 11 of 27 Local Government Areas, garnering a total of 273,404 votes to defeat his closestrival, Mr Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance, AA,who won in 10 LGAs and polled 190,364 votes.
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Some other known names in the Imo guber race included Mr Ifeanyi Araraume of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA and a former senator who scored 114,676 votes, winning in four LGAs, taking the third spot; Hope Uzodinma, a serving Senator representing Imo West Senatorial district and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who polled 96,458 votes and won in two LGAs to take the fourth position and former governor of the state, Mr Ikedi Ohakim of the Accord Party, who polled 6,846 votes and failed to win in any of the council areas.
A total of 739,474 votes were cast out of which 25,130 votes were invalidated while 714,344 were valid.
In his closing remarks, Otunta thanked INEC officials, political party agents, security operatives and journalists for their patriotic commitment to national assignment.
“I salute your patriotism and commitment to this national assignment.
“I hereby declare that Emeka Ihedioha, having satisfied all the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes has won the election and is hereby returned,” he said.
