April 01, (THEWILL) – The Court of Appeal, sitting in Enugu, on Friday, dismissed a suit seeking to declare the seats of Governor David Nweze Umahi and his Deputy, Dr Kelechi Igwe vacant, on account of their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
THEWILL recalls that Governor Umahi and his Deputy had in November 2020, defected to the APC.
Following their defection, the candidate of the APC in the 2019 Governorship election, Senator Sonni Ogbuoji and his running mate, Justin Ogbodo Mbam, approached an Ebonyi High Court seeking the sack of the Governor and his Deputy.
Ogbuoji and Mbam also demanded the Court to order that they be sworn-in immediately as Governor and Deputy having emerged second in the said election.
But the High Court, in a judgement on February 28, struck out the suit and awarded N500,000 as damages against the plaintiffs.
Not satisfied with the ruling, the plaintiffs appealed the decision.
But in a 37-minute judgement, the Appellate Court agreed with the lower Court’s ruling on the matter.
The Appeal Justices, in a unanimous judgement read by Justice Alfa Belgore, dismissed the suit for being inconsistent with the Constitution and extant laws of the country.
