Amidst allegations of widespread anomalies, malpractices and drama, incumbent Governor Hope Uzodimma, won a landslide victory for a second term in office as governor of Imo state.

Despite perceived apathy and low voters’ turnout, the governor polled a total of 540,308 votes to defeat his closest rivals, Senator Samuel Anyanwu of the PDP who polled 71,503 and Achonu Nneji of the Labour Party who polled 64,081 votes. There were 17 candidates in the contest.

Governor Hope Uzodimma won in all the 23 local governments of the state. The number of registered voters in the state for the poll was 2,419,922 with 2,318,919 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected.

The declaration of Hope Uzodinma as winner of the election was made by the Returning Officer, Prof Fashina Abayomi Sunday, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State at 10:05 am.

There was however, a lot of drama at the State Collation Centre, where party agents of both the Labour Party and the PDP picked holes in the election process saying the results being announced were at variance with events that took place on the field. They took the local governments returning officers to task by asking probing questions to buttress their argument of malpractices in the exercise.

At a stage, the arguments came to a head and violence took over as the party agent of the Labour Party was physically attacked by other agents and dragged on the floor out of the collation centre for peace to reign and for collation to continue.

With the aggressive enquirers out of the way, collation of results moved rapidly and soon the exercise was done with. The State Returning Officer, Prof Fashina Abayomi Sunday announced a one-hour break to undertake his collation and when he called the house back to order a few minutes to 10:00 am, he proceeded to announce the results as tallied.

There was jubilation in the government house and by supporters of Governor Hope Uzodimma across Imo state. The supporters submitted that Governor Hope Uzodinma had enough achievements in four years to be elected and that his opponents did not work as hard as him during the campaigns.

A breakdown of the results as announced for the leading three political parties are Njaba LGA; Accredited voters: 12098, APC: 8110, LP: 995, PDP: 2404, valid votes: 11736, rejected votes: 294, total votes cast: 12030. Mbaitoli LGA; Registered voters:153284, Accredited voters: 24186, APC: 12556, LP: 4007, PDP: 5343, valid votes: 23,014, rejected votes: 972, total votes cast: 23,986.

Ihitte Uboma LGA; Registered voters: 52108, Accredited voters: 17537, APC: 11099, LP: 2766, PDP: 3077, Valid votes: 17358, Rejected votes: 179, Total votes cast: 17537. Ideato North LGA; Registered voters: 86905, Accredited voters: 9609, APC: 5271, LP: 1522, PDP: 2062, Valid votes: 9161, Rejected votes: 389, Total votes cast: 9550. Ohaji/Egbema LGA; Registered voters: 107,456, Accredited voters: 21366, APC: 14,962, LP: 1,506, PDP: 3,694, Valid votes: 20755, Rejected votes: 494, Total votes cast: 21249. Orlu LGA; Registered voters: 103223, Accredited voters: 49229, APC: 37,614, LP: 1711, PDP: 2424, Valid votes: 48027, Rejected votes: 359, Total votes cast: 48386.

Nwangele LGA, Registered voters: 55535, Accredited voters: 33259, APC: 29,282, LP: 895, PDP: 2132, Valid votes: 32,597, Rejected votes: 362, Total votes cast: 32,959. Onuimo LGA; Registered voters: 36717, Accredited voters: 18405, APC: 13134, LP: 1753, PDP: 2676, Valid votes: 18240, Rejected votes: 36, Total votes cast: 18276

Orsu LGA, Registered voters: 56,996, Accredited voters: 19,939, APC: 18,003, LP: 813, PDP: 624, Valid votes: 19,589, Rejected votes: 206, Total votes cast: 19,795. Ehime Mbano LGA; Registered voters: 79212, Accredited voters: 13027, APC: 6632, LP: 4958, PDP: 681, Valid votes: 12484, Rejected votes: 298, Total votes cast: 12782

Ikeduru LGA; Registered voters: 119987, Accredited voters: 3366, APC: 22356, LP: 1877, PDP: 7258, Valid votes: 32183, Rejected votes: 529, Total votes cast: 32712. Owerri Municipal, Registers voters: 134,169, Accredited voters: 11,110
APC: 5,324, LP: 2,914, PDP: 2,180, Valid votes: 10,813, Rejected votes: 241, Total votes cast 11,054

Aboh Mbaise LGA; Registered voters: 111207, Accredited voters: 16084, APC: 9638, LP: 2455, PDP: 1724, Valid votes: 15415, Rejected votes: 375, Total votes cast: 15790. Oguta LGA; Registered voters: 15152, Accredited voters: 64260, APC: 57310, LP: 1941, PDP: 2653, Valid votes: 63675, Rejected votes: 271, Total votes cast: 63947. Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA; Registered voters: 91272, Accredited voters: 16971, APC: 8473, APGA: 73, LP: 3332, PDP: 2737, Valid votes: 16282, Rejected votes: 458, Total votes cast: 16740. ISIALA MBANO; APC: 10,860, LP: 2,419, PDP: 1,659, VALID VOTES: 15,202, REJECTED VOTES: 329, TOTAL VOTES CAST: 15,531

OWERRI WEST, APC: 9,205, LP: 2,597, PDP: 3,305, VALID VOTES: 15712, REJECTED VOTES: 511, TOTAL VOTES CAST: 16,223. NGOR OKPALA : APC 14,143, LP: 2,716, PDP: 3,451, VALID VOTES: 21,492, REJECTED VOTES: 511, TOTAL VOTES CAST: 22,003

ABOH MBAISE; APC: 9,638, LP: 2,455, PDP: 1,724, VALID VOTES: 15,415, REJECTED VOTES: 375, TOTAL VOTES CAST: 15,790, NKWERRE, APC: 22,488, LP: 1,320, PDP: 2,632, VALID VOTES: 26,764, REJECTED VOTES: 142, TOTAL VOTES CAST: 26,906, AHIAZU MBAISE; APC: 8,369, LP: 2,214, PDP: 3,507, VALID VOTES: 15,353, REJECTED VOTES: 525, TOTAL VOTES CAST:15,878.

ISU LGA; APC: 11,312, LP: 1,253, PDP: 2508, VALID VOTES: 15,776, REJECTED VOTES: 156, TOTAL VOTES CAST: 15,932.
Owerri North LGA, Registered voters: 134,555, Accredited voters: 18,398, APC: 8,536, LP: 4,386, PDP: 3,449, Valid votes: 17,440, Rejected votes: 576, Total votes cast: 18,016. Oru West LGA, accredited voters: 42965, APC: 38,726, APGA: 275, LP: 1,867, PDP: 987, Votes cast: 41,373, Rejected: 581, Total Votes cast: 42,318

Owerri Municipal; APC: 5,324, LP: 2,914, PDP: 2,180, Obowo LGA, Registered voters: 68,690, Accredited voters: 22, 214, APC: 17,514, LP: 3,404, PDP: 711, Valid votes: 21,907, Rejected votes: 264, Total votes cast: 22,171. IDEATO SOUTH LGA; APC – 16, 891, LP – 1,649, PDP – 2469. Okigwe LGA; Total Valid Votes: 63, 935, APC: 55,585, LP: 2,655, PDP: 1,688.

Uzodimma Says “We Prayed, God Answered Our Prayer and Granted Us Victory”

With a heartful of joy and praises to God, Governor Hope Uzodimma attended the Sunday Service and attributed his victory to the making of God: “We Prayed, God Answered Our Prayer and Granted Us Victory” he declared in Church before a large congregation of his supporters.

In a short speech at the occasion, the governor thanked the leadership of his party, the APC for standing by him. He expressed appreciation to the leadership of the NLC, TUC, Union of Teachers and the Union of Pensioners for their support, “we have a cordial relationship and they resisted those who wanted to use them and came out with commitment to vote for us”.

Addressing the workers directly, “Civil servants in Imo state, tou have shown me love , I will also show you love” he said. He expressed his appreciation to the State’s traditional rulers and elders for coming out to vote en masse. “Never in the history of elections in Imo State has any governorship candidate won in all the 27 local government areas of the state”

Later on, a statement of appreciation was issued on his X (former Twitter) handle read: “My good people of Imo State, I am humbled and honored by your overwhelming support in yesterday’s election. Your trust in me to continue leading our dear State is both inspiring and deeply appreciated. Together, we have achieved a resounding victory and I am committed to delivering on the promises made during our campaign.

”As we embark on the Next Level of Shared Prosperity, rest assured that your interests will remain at the forefront of my administration. I extend a hand to my fellow contenders from other parties, urging them to join me in a united effort to build and uplift our one and only dear State. In the spirit of inclusivity, we will operate a government that transcends political differences for the benefit of all.

“I express profound gratitude to every member of my team, our great party and every citizen of Imo for your unwavering support. Our State is progressing because of your collective efforts.

“I commend the Independent National Electoral Commission @inecnigeria and its officials for ensuring a fair and neutral electoral process. I also appreciate the dedication of the security agencies in maintaining peace during the exercise.

“A special thanks to the leader of our great party, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his fatherly guidance throughout the electioneering period. Together, let us continue the journey towards a more prosperous and inclusive Imo State.

“Thank you, ndi Imo, for your trust and confidence. Our shared future is bright and I am committed to leading us to greater heights.”