David Umahi, the governor of Ebonyi State, and Dr. Eric Kelechi Igwe, his deputy, were fired by the Federal High Court in Abuja after they switched from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress. The Court of Appeal, Abuja division has overturned this decision (APC).
The entirety of 393, 042 votes governor Umahi received in the Ebonyi state governorship election on March 9, 2019, according to Justice Inyang Ekwo’s ruling issued on March 8, 2022, belonged to the PDP and could not legally be transferred to the APC.
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In its ruling on Friday, the Appeal Court determined that a governor or deputy governor who defected from the party on whose platform he or she was elected was not subject to any penalties under the 1999 Constitution.
In the lead decision of the appellate court, Justice Haruna Tsanami concluded that the only course of action available to a political party saddened by the defection of a governor or deputy governor is to investigate the constitutional provision for impeachment.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja agreed with a previous ruling rendered by the court’s Enugu division on the identical matter.
