The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal on Friday reversed the High Court judgment that sacked Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi State and his Deputy, Dr. Eric Igwe, from their respective offices.
Persecondnews recalls that the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, had on March 8, 2022, ordered Umahi and his deputy to immediately vacate their positions following their defections from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Umahi had in November 2020, dumped the PDP the platform on which he was elected for two terms, and moved over to the APC.
According to the court, having defected to the APC, both Umahi and Dr. Igwe, not only jettisoned the PDP, but also the votes that belonged to it.
The court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the total number of 393, 042 votes Umahi secured during the March 9, 2019, governorship election in Ebonyi state, belonged to the PDP and same could not be legally transferred to the APC.
However, dissatisfied with the judgment, both Umahi and his deputy took the matter to the appellate court.
The appellants had argued that the trial court, in ordering them to vacate their offices based on the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/920/2021, which was brought against them by the PDP, attempted to overrule a subsisting decision of the Supreme Court.
However, in the Friday ruling, the appellate court in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsanami, held that there is no constitutional provision for the removal of a serving governor or deputy governor that dumped the political party that sponsored them to power.
According to the court, the only option available to a political party aggrieved by the defection of a governor or deputy it sponsored to power, was for such party to explore the option of impeachment as provided for in the Constitution.
Consequently, the appellate court, voided the high court judgment that removed Umahi and his deputy from office.
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