Sam Amadi Questions Court Ruling Disqualifying Uzodimma, Says Governor May Be Facing Injustice

Former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sam Amadi, has questioned the circumstances surrounding the Federal High Court judgment disqualifying Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Imo West senatorial election.

Amadi suggested that Uzodimma might have been unfairly treated, urging Nigerians to examine the evidence surrounding the party’s primary election before reaching conclusions.

The Federal High Court in Abuja had ruled on Thursday that Uzodimma was not the rightful winner of the APC primary conducted in May. The court also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise former Imo State governor Rochas Okorocha as the authentic winner of the primary.

Reacting in a post on his official Facebook page on Friday, Amadi said the governor’s political controversies should not automatically mean he could not be a victim of injustice.

“Hope Uzodimma may be guilty of many things. But it does not mean he is guilty of everything. It MAY not be true that he is not rightfully the candidate of APC for the Orlu Zone Senate position,” Amadi wrote.

He said he had seen video footage and television reports showing Uzodimma standing alongside his wife during the primary election, with a sizeable crowd of APC members behind him.

Amadi used the footage to question whether the governor had been treated fairly in the dispute, while acknowledging that the existence of a crowd alone could not establish who legitimately won the primary.

“The Igbos say that a child that often cries does not make it easy to know when he is beaten. Hope cries a lot. When he is a victim of injustice we may not pay attention,” he said.

He further called for the evidence presented by Okorocha’s camp to be examined, rather than relying solely on public impressions of the competing candidates’ support.

“Let us see the evidence of Okorocha’s primary election. We are not a court, but we can say, ‘oh probably his crowd is bigger than Hope’s’,” Amadi added.

The comments have brought further attention to the legal dispute between Uzodimma and Okorocha over the APC ticket for the Imo West senatorial contest.