Defection: Court Upholds Judgement In Favour Of Umahi And His Deputy

An Appeal Court in Enugu on Friday dismissed a suit seeking the removal of Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State and his Deputy, Dr. Kelechi Igwe, from office.

Governor Umahi and his Deputy had on November 2020 left the PDP, a platform on which they were elected, to the APC, citing injustice by the PDP against the South East zone.

But the court in a unanimous judgement delivered by Justice A. O Belgore, held that Governor Umahi and his deputy had the right to move to any political party they so wished, adding that there was nowhere in the constitution, the supreme law of the land, that barred a sitting governor from defecting to any political party.

Justice A.O Belgore dismissed the suit for being inconsistent with the constitution and extant laws of the country.

Recently, an Abuja High Court presided over by Justice Inyang Ekwo had sacked Umahi, Igwe and 17 lawmakers in the state for dumping the PDP to the APC.

But, on February 28, 2022, a High Court sitting in Abakaliki struck out the same suit.