The Court of Appeal in Abuja Friday upturned the judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja which sacked Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State and his Deputy, Dr. Eric Igwe, from their respective offices, following their defection to the All Progressive Congress.
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsanami, held that there was no constitutional provision for the removal of an incumbent 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 in the constitution.
Consequently, the appellate court, nullified the Hgh Court judgement which sacked Umahi and Igwe from office and ordered the Peoples Democratic Party, to submit names of their replacement to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
It has been reported that Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja had in the judgement he delivered on March 8, held that the total number of 393, 343 votes Umahi secured during the March 9, 2019 governorship contest in Ebonyi, belonged to the Peoples Democratic Party, which sponsored his election.
The Judge had held that the said votes were not legally transferrable to the APC which the governor and his deputy decamped to, stressing that the duo not only jettisoned the PDP, but also the votes that belonged to it.
According to him, the PDP was bound to retain the votes and mandate that was given to it by electorates in Ebonyi state.
Justice Ekwo declared that having regard to section 221 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and the democratic system of governance operated in Nigeria, votes at the election and elections are won by political parties and not their candidates or the candidates sponsored at the election by the political parties.
He further made a declaration, that “Votes won or scored by a political party at an election is retained by the political party irrespective of the death or exit of the candidate it sponsored for the election, from the political party.
“A declaration that candidate of a political party that won the majority votes at an election is not entitled to retain or continue to lay claims to the votes won by the political party after moving to another political party, rather, the candidate is bound to inherit, utilize or appropriate the votes won by the new political party he has adopted”.
Aside from directing the PDP to submit to INEC, the name of its candidates to replace the 3rd and 4th defendants, the court, issued an order of perpetual injunction, restraining governor Umahi and his deputy from putting themselves out or parading themselves as Governor and Deputy Governor respectively of Ebonyi state.
