A Federal High Court in Abuja, has sacked Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, and his Deputy, Dr Eric Kelechi Igwe, over their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressive Congress, APC.
The judgement, delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the total number of 393,042 votes Umahi secured at the March 9, 2019 Ebonyi State governorship election belonged to the PDP, hence could not be legally transferred to the APC.
The court noted that both Umahi and Igwe’s defection to the APC, not only threw out the PDP, but also the votes that belonged to the party.
In the same vein, the court sacks Ebonyi lawmakers over the unlawful defection
The court declared their defection unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void and ordered them to immediately vacate their offices.
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Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a separate judgment in a suit by the PDP ordered the Speaker of the House of Assembly and his co-defectors to immediately stop parading themselves as members of Ebonyi State House of Assembly.
He held that the votes that brought them to office belonged to the PDP and that the legislators cannot hold on to the votes having elected to defect from the party that nominated them.
The court restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognizing or according any recognition to them as elected members of the House of Assembly.
Justice Ekwo ordered that all monies collected from the top period of their defection to the judgment date must be recovered from them
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