A Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked Ebonyi State Governor, Mr Dave Umahi, and his Deputy, Dr Kelechi Igwe

By Derrick Bangura

A Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked Ebonyi State Governor, Mr Dave Umahi, and his Deputy, Dr Kelechi Igwe, for illegally defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party PDP to the All Progressives Congress APC (APC).

The court ruled that their defection was illegal, unconstitutional, and null and void, and ordered them to vacate their positions immediately.

 

In a ruling issued on Tuesday, Justice Inyang Ekwo ordered Umahi and his deputy to cease acting as Governor and Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State.

The judge held that the votes that brought them to office belonged to the PDP and cannot hold on to the votes having elected to jettison the party that nominated them.

Justice Ekwo also held that the votes cast for PDP in the March 9, 2019 governorship election are not transferrable to the APC that failed in the election.

ustice Inyang Eden Ekwo fixed Tuesday afternoon to deliver the make or mar verdict after counsel to the governor, Chukwuma Machukwu Umeh SAN, argued fresh motions seeking to give new directions to the suits marked FHC/ABJ/CS/ 920/21 and FHC/ABJ/CS/ 1041/21.

PDP in an originating summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/920/2021, is principally asking the court to make a declaration that by defecting from the party on which they were sponsored and elected as Governor and Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State to the APC, a political party that did not win the election, they have resigned or are deemed to have resigned from office.

The crux of the PDP’s case is that the governor and his deputy defected and relinquished their membership of the PDP on which platform they contested and won the governorship election, and by so doing are deemed to have lost the majority votes scored at the election.

They claimed that the two defendants should be ordered by the court to vacate their respective offices as Governor and Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State.

Although the judgment was slated for this morning, the governor and his deputy, however, came up with a fresh application challenging the affidavit evidence of the PDP in support of the originating summons.

They argued that the affidavit evidence has lost probate value and became incompetent in law because it was deposed to by a lawyer in the legal team of PDP.

Umahi and Igwe asked the court to void the case of PDP against them on account of the alleged flawed affidavit evidence.

In a vehement opposition, PDP through its counsel, Emmanuel Ukala SAN asked the judge to dismiss the fresh arguments of the governor and his deputy on the ground that the issue they raised cannot be of help to them.

Ukala insisted that the affidavit in question was in respect of proceedings witnessed in court by the lawyer and that the point of the two defendants had no bearing with the defection suit.

Justice Ekwo after taking arguments announced he will deliver a ruling in the fresh motions and then proceed to give judgment in the afternoon today.

At the time of this report, the camp of the governor and his deputy appeared jittery as their followers and sympathizers gathered around the court premises busy making phone calls to their principals.

Other defendants in the suit are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).