The Ebonyi State Governor, Mr. Dave Umahi has appealed the judgment of the Federal High Court that ordered his removal and his deputy, Eric Igwe, from office.
Governor Umahi and his deputy, through their team of lawyers, led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Chukwuma Ume, in their eight grounds of appeal, maintained that Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, erred in law in his judgement and caused a grave miscarriage of justice against them.
They argued that the trial court, in ordering them to vacate their offices, based on the suit, attempted to overrule a subsisting decision of the Supreme Court in AG Federation v. Atiku Abubakar & 3 ORDERs.
They contended that the apex court had in its decision, held that no constitutional provision prohibited a sitting president or vice president, and invariably, governor or deputy governor, from defecting to another political party.
The team of counsels maintained that the trial high court judge erred, when he held thus: “I have not seen any authority which propounds that where a governor or deputy governor defects his political party on which platform he was elected into office, he cannot be sued by that political party to reclaim its mandate… Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution did not envisage such a situation.”
They argued that the trial court ought to have dismissed the case of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in view of the clear provision of Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Umahi’s lawyers, therefore, asked the appellate court to set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court.
It could be recalled that aFederal High Court in Abuja Nigeria has sacked the Ebonyi State governor, Mr Dave Umahi, his Deputy, Dr. Kelechi Igwe and 16 members of the State House of Assembly on account of their unlawful defection from the Peoples Democratic Party PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
