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Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State and his deputy, Kelechi Igwe, on Wednesday filed a notice of appeal against the judgment of a Federal High Court, Abuja that ordered their removal from office.
The notice of appeal is filed barely 24 hours after the order for their sack was issued.
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday ordered Umahi, his deputy and 16 state lawmakers to vacate office on account of their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The judge held that Umahi, Igwe and the 16 legislators’ continued stay in office after defecting amounts to an illegality, null and void because the votes which brought them into office belong to the PDP which they have dumped for the APC.
However, in the notice of appeal filed by their lead lawyer, Chukwuma Machukwu-Ume (SAN), the appellants are asking the court to allow their appeal and set aside the judgment of the trial court that ordered their sack.
The appellants predicated the appeal on 11 grounds on which they argued that the trial court erred in law in arriving at the decision to remove them from office.
In ground one of the appeal, the appellants contended that the lower court erred in law and misdirected itself when it held: “| 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.”
The appellants submitted that the trial court was virtually setting aside the Supreme Court of Nigeria’s 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 governor from defecting to another political party or meting out punishment for doing same”.
“The trial court was also virtually setting aside the decision of the Supreme Court in Global Excellence Communications Ltd v. Duke (2007) LPELR — 1323 to the effect that state governors and their deputies have immunity against being sued while in office,” the appellants argued.
Umahi and Igwe posited that the provisions of section 308 are specific notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the constitution but subject to subsection (2) of the section, “no civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted or continued against 3th and 4th appellants during their mandate in office as governor and deputy governor respectively”.
More so, the appellants maintained that “there is no provision of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) that provides for the removal of the appellants as sitting governor and deputy governor respectively of Ebonyi State for reason of defection”.
Among other grounds, the appellants argued that the lower court erred in law when it assumed jurisdiction on issue of defection of appellants when it has no jurisdiction over same.
The error, according to Umahi and Igwe, is that the trial court’s interpretation of what amounts to the Federal High Court having the powers of state High Court under the constitution was wrong, adding that: “Power of court and jurisdiction are not the same.”
The appellants argued that they are state officers and not federal officers.
The appellants also faulted Justice Ekwo for relying on Sections 68 and 109 of the 1999 Constitution in holding that the appellants having defected from the PDP to the APC offended the provisions of the constitution and must vacate their offices as governor and deputy governor respectively.
They further claimed that the trial court misdirected itself because “there is no specific mention of governor and deputy governor in the provisions of section 68 and 109 respectively of the 1999 Constitution (as amended)”.
“By relying on sections 68 and 109 of the Constitution, the trial court assumed the role of the legislator and arrogated to itself the powers of amendment of the constitution.
“There is no provision in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which states that governor or deputy governor will vacate his office if he defects from his political party to another political party” they said.
Similarly, the sacked 16 lawmakers of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly have prayed the appellate court to set aside Justice IEkwo’s judgment of March 8, which asked them to vacate their seats.
The affected lawmakers in their notice of appeal dated March 9, are seeking an order of the Court of Appeal setting aside the judgment of Justice Ekwo.
Respondents in the appeal are the PDP, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and APC.
