By A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sacked Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi and his deputy Kelechi Igwe on account of their defecting from the Peoples Democratic Part (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a judgement delivered on Tuesday, Justice Inyang Ekwo said the APC, which is the second defendant in the suit, had failed to challenge the case of the plaintiff.
He noted that the parri, instead, focused on the competence of the plaintiff case and not on the substantive suit.
Stonix News reports that the judge said failure by the defendant to challenge the case of the plaintiff made it proper and right.
Justice Ekwo said that Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) on immunity of a governor or deputy governor did not hold true in this extant case particularly after defecting from the party on whose platform it got elected.
Citing Sections 179(2), 221 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 82 of the Electoral Act, it is the political party (PDP) that got the votes in the March 9, 1999 governorship election in Ebonyi State and not the individuals.
The court said there was no constitutional provisions that allows the transfer of the ballot from one political party to another, adding that a “governor and deputy is dressed in the robe of a political party.”
Justice Ekwo therefore stated that the office of the governor and deputy governor of Ebonyi State belongs to the PDP which is the plaintiff in the suit as they were elected into office on the party’s platform and not the APC they had defected to.
The Court said Umahi and Igwe were elected Governor and Deputy in line with section 221 of the Constitution which entails that it was the PDP that sponsored their candidacy and election.
As such, the Court ordered that the PDP is entitled to the majority vote scored in the March 9 Ebonyi governorship polls.
The Court also ordered the PDP to name Umahi and Igwe’s successors for position of Governor and Deputy as they were ordered to vacate office.
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