Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi on Wednesday headed for the Court of Appeal in Abuja to challenge the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja that sacked him and his deputy, Dr Eric Kelechi from office.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had, on Tuesday, sacked Umahi, Kelechi and sixteen lawmakers for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In the appeal filed at the appellate court, Umahi in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/920/2021 said that the lower court erred in its judgment.
Umahi and Kelechi disagreed with the verdict on eight grounds.
The appellants argued that the lower court misdirected itself when it said 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 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 there was no constitutional provisions prohibiting President or vice and invariably the Governor and or deputy Governor from defecting to another political party.
Stay ahead with the latest updates! Join The ConclaveNG on WhatsApp and Telegram for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
