Court orders removal of Ebonyi Gov. over defection saga

Ebonyi State Governor

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, sacked Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi and his Deputy, Eric Kelechi Igwe.

The decision follows their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressive Congress (APC) in November 2020.

The court, in a judgement delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the total number of 393, 042 votes Governor Umahi secured during the March 9, 2019 gubernatorial election in Ebonyi state, belonged to the PDP and same could not be legally transferred to the APC.

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According to the court, having defected to the APC, both Umahi and his deputy, not only jettisoned the PDP, but also the votes that belonged to it.

It ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately receive from the PDP, names of persons to replace Umahi and his Deputy, or in the alternative, conduct fresh gubernatorial election in Ebonyi state in line with section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.