Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi, and his deputy, Kelechi Igwe, have urged the Court of Appeal in Abuja to nullify the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which, on Tuesday, ordered their removal from office.

The Federal High Court judge, Inyang Ekwo, had sacked Umahi and Igwe alongside 15 lawmakers of Ebonyi State House of Assembly over their defection from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC).

Umahi and Igwe, in November last year, defected from PDP to the ruling APC.

Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume in a notice of appeal filed on behalf of the appellants, questioned the entire judgment delivered by Ekwo.

Ume, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), also lodged a separate notice of appeal on behalf of the 15 state legislators whose seats were declared vacant by the trial court on Tuesday.

Grounds of appeal

In the notice of appeal seen by this reporter, Umahi and Igwe anchored their displeasure over Ekwo’s judgment on 11 grounds.

The appellants said the judge erred in law in arriving at his decision as “there is no provision of the 1999 Constitution that provides for the removal” of Umahi and Igwe as governor and deputy governor respectively of Ebonyi state on account of ditching the PDP on whose platform they rode to power.

They submitted that the trial judge set aside the Supreme Court decision in AG Federation V Atiku Abubakar & 3 ors (2007) LCN/3799/(SC), to the effect that there is no constitutional provisions prohibiting President or Vice and invariably the Governor and or deputy from defecting to another political party or punishment being meted on them for doing same.

The appellants’ lawyer urged the Court of Appeal to declare that the trial judge erred in law by holding that ” I have not seen any authority which propounds that where a Governor or deputy Governor defects his political party on which platform he was selected 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 further contended that the judge erred in law when he assumed jurisdiction on issue of defection when he lacked such powers.

“That the trial court erred and misdirected itself when it relied on sections 68 and 109 of the 1999 constitution in holding that the appellants having defected from the 1strespondendent (PDP) to the 3rd respondent (APC), offended the provisions of the Constitution and must vacate their offices as governor and deputy governor respectively.”

The lawyer explained that there is no specific mention of governor and deputy governor in the provisions of section 68 and 109 respectively of the 1999 Constitution.

Ume further argued that by relying on the above constitutional provisions, “the trial court assumed the role of the legislator and arrogated to itself the powers of amendment of the Constitution.”

The appellants equally argued that the court erred in law and overruled as well as set aside the decisions of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal when it held that ownership of vote cast during the governorship election belongs to the PDP and not the appellants.

“That the trial court relied on Ameachi V INEC and Faleke V INEC when same are no longer the law on the ownership of votes cast in an election,” the appellants’ lawyer said.

He cited Ngige V Akunyile (2012), which he pointed out as the prevailing authority on the matter, showing “that a political party canvases for votes on behalf of the candidate.”

”In other words a political party is nothing more than an agent of the candidate in gathering votes to an election,” he added.

He also argued: “That the trial court erred in law when it restrained the appellants from carrying on the duties in their offices as Governor and deputy governor of Ebonyi state on the basis that the appellants offended the provisions of section 177(c) and 221 of the 1999 Constitution.

“That the trial court erred in law when it ordered appellants to vacate their respective offices as Governor and deputy Governor of Ebonyi state and 1st respondent (PDP) to submit to submit to 2nd respondent (INEC), names of its candidates to replace appellants as Governors and deputy governors of Ebonyi state.

“That section 141 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and section 285(13) of the 1999 Constitution states: “An election tribunal or court shall not under any circumstances declare any person a winner at an election in which such a person has not fully participated in all the stages of the said election.”

Backstory

In two separate judgements handed by Ekwo on Tuesday, the court voided the continued occupation of offices by Messrs Umahi and Igwe and the 15 lawmakers on account of their defection to APC.

The judge based his decision on the grounds that a defecting elected official ought to have resigned his position before dumping the political party that gave them the platform for election.

The court ordered PDP to submit fresh names of candidates to Messrs Umahi and his deputy as well as the 15 state legislators.

PT