A’ Court Upturns Judgement Sacking Gov Umahi, Deputy over Defection

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Court of Appeal, Abuja yesterday overturned the judgement of a Federal High Court Abuja that ordered the removal of Mr. David Umahi and Dr. Eric Igwe, as Governor and Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State.

 Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja had in a judgment delivered in March this year sacked Umahi and his deputy over their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2021.

Justice Ekwo after ordering the sack of Umahi and his deputy subsequently ordered the PDP to submit names of their replacement to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

However, the appellate court in a unanimous decision held that there is no constitutional provision for the removal of a serving governor or deputy governor, who decamped from the political party that sponsored them to power.

Delivering judgment in the appeal by Umahi and his deputy, a three-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsanami, noted that the only option available to a political party aggrieved by the defection of a governor or deputy it sponsored to power, was for such party to explore the option of impeachment as provided in the Constitution.

Having so held, Justice Tsanami accordingly went ahead to set aside the judgment of the trial court.

Justice Ekwo had on March 8, held that the total number of 393, 343 votes that brought governor Umahi and his deputy into the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Ebonyi State, belonged to the PDP, which sponsored their election.

According to Ekwo, votes are cast for political parties during elections and such votes cannot be transferred from one political party to another, adding that Umahi and his deputy cannot take the votes of the PDP to the APC when they decamped to the APC.

The trial court had held that “votes won or scored by a political party at an election are retained by the political party irrespective of the death or exit of the candidate it sponsored for the election, from the political party.”

He further held that candidate of a political party that won the majority votes at an election is not entitled to retain or continue to lay claims to the votes won by the political party after moving to another political party, rather, the candidate is bound to inherit, utilise or appropriate the votes won by the new political party he has adopted.

Aside from directing the PDP to submit to the INEC, the name of its candidates to replace the 3rd and 4th Defendants, the court, issued an order of perpetual injunction, restraining governor Umahi and his deputy from putting themselves out or parading themselves as Governor and Deputy Governor respectively of Ebonyi State.

Justice Ekwo similarly issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining APC from parading itself as the political party whose members occupy the offices of Governor and Deputy Governor respectively of Ebonyi State.

However, dissatisfied with the judgement, both Umahi and his deputy took the matter to the appellate court where they won.

The appellants had argued that the trial court, in ordering them to vacate their offices based on the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/920/2021, which was brought against them by the PDP, attempted to overrule a subsisting decision of the Supreme Court in AG Federation v. Atiku Abubakar & 3 ORS (2007) LCN/3799 (SC).

They contended that the apex court had in its decision, held that no constitutional provision prohibited a sitting President or Vice President, and invariably, the Governor or Deputy Governor, from defecting to another political party.

Umahi and his deputy argued that there is no specific mention of Governor and Deputy Governor in the provisions of both Sections 68 and 109 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

They further argued that the trial court erred in law, when it restrained them from carrying on the duties in their offices as Governor and Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, on the premise that they acted in breach of Sections 177(c) and 221 of the Constitution.

“Section 221 of the Constitution is not to the effect that votes cast during the Governorship election of March 9, 2019 belonged to the 1st Respondent (PDP), but rather to the Appellants.

“Section 177 of the Constitution is all about qualification for a candidate to the Governorship election and has anything to do with punishment for defection,” they argued.

They averred that the trial court erred in law, when it ordered the 1st Respondent (PDP) to submit to the 2nd Respondent (INEC), names of its candidates to replace the Appellants as Governor and Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State.

They argued that no law gave the court the power to declare anyone that did not participate in all stages of the election, as winner of the said election.