Was Justice Inyang Ekwo of Federal High Court, Abuja, right to sack David Umahi and Kelechi Igwe as governor and deputy governor of Ebonyi State respectively? Did he err in law by also making a declaration advertising the seats of 15 lawmakers in the state House of Assembly as vacant? Did he do justice to the suit filed by the plaintiff, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which instigated the declarations, over the defendants’ defection from the PDP, under which banner they rode to power, to the All Progressives Congress (APC)?
These and definitely more are some of the questions that will form the meat of arguments and legal fireworks at a higher court and be raised in the grounds of appeal by the 18 silks hired by the embattled Governor Umahi when his appeal is heard by the Appellate Court anytime soon.
Shock and disbelief must have been the initial reaction of Umahi when the decision of Justice Ekwo was communicated to him on March 8. Not only was the governor, his deputy and 15 lawmakers asked to vacate their positions, the PDP, which filed the suit, was mandated to submit replacements to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) immediately.
“It can be noted that the Constitution does not deal with the issue of defection lightly. The 3rd and 4th defendants [the governor and his deputy] cannot transfer the votes and victory of the Plaintiff [PDP] on March 9, 2019, to the APC. The office of the governor and deputy governor of Ebonyi State belongs to the PDP.
“The option for Umahi and Igwe is to vacate office and wait for the next election to contest the election under the platform of its new party,” the court declared.
According to the judge, the argument about immunity from Umahi’s lawyer amounted to no issue since the clause as contained in Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution as amended is not absolute.
The court said although the section “is a veritable constitutional shield”, it was not for political reasons.
The judge noted that Umahi, in the processes filed in his defence, did not controvert the ownership of the votes he scored at the governorship election in 2019 and so the counter-affidavits filed by him to challenge the suit were “evasive and insufficient.”
But the governor has fought back, declaring that he could not be removed from office by court. Umahia said he had engaged the service of 18 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to take charge of his appeal.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters who went to solidarise with him, the governor, who recently declared his ambition to run as president, was quoted to have said:
“…we have engaged 8 SANs to proceed to Abuja [and] we have engaged 10 SANs to proceed to Enugu. Do not be angry about anything, it is for our promotion. What the people intended for evil, God has turned it for good.
“When it happened yesterday, God told me to be still and know that I am God. And so, you will see what God is going to do. Nigerians are fighting for us,” he said.
INEC has explained why it has yet to comply with the judgment. In a statement by one of its national commissioners, Festus Okoye, on Thursday, the electoral umpire said it has received nine separate orders and motions from different courts on the matter.
“Just as the commission was about to commence deliberation on them, its attention was drawn to additional court processes served today in respect of the matter.
“Consequently, the commission decided to defer its deliberation on the Ebonyi cases and stepped down the listed memorandum to enable its Legal Services and Clearance Committee to study the new processes in the light of the previously served ones and advise the commission comprehensively.
“The commission will meet again next week to deliberate on the matter and thereafter make its decision public,” Okoye said.
Will it cure politicians’ penchant for switching parties?
It would look like the verdict is directed at curing the country of its malignant and gangrenous growth of pass-switching which has not only become rampant, but appears to have been developed into a negative political culture. Nigerians have consequently seen no difference in terms of ideological leaning, among any of the parties.
Although they had hitherto dithered on making a law that will address the practice, the federal lawmakers appear ready to confront the monster with the passage of a recommendation that makes a defector to lose their position as contained in the ongoing amendment to the 1999 Constitution.
To many, there is the need to make a law that will specifically address the practice. Those advocating that politicians have freedom of association as enshrined in the constitution are told that the enjoyment of such freedom should not cause injury or make another party to suffer a loss. According to this school, votes won by candidates at elections belong only to the parties and not the candidates.
Canvassers of this view reference Section 221of the 1999 Constitution which states that “No association, other than a political party, shall canvass for any candidate at any election or contribute to the funds of any political party or to the election expenses of any candidate at an election.”
However, a former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, Dave Ajetomobi, believes the issue of party as platform and candidate flying the party’s flag is interwoven and inseparable.
According to him, Section 221 does not empower parties to solicit votes without having candidates. “The parties are platforms. This is why they are amending the law to give room for Independent candidature,” he said (read his full view on page 19).
Is Umahi treatment waiting for Zamafara gov?
In a related matter, the governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, will know his fate on April 8, as the same court and the same judge who sacked Umahi has fixed the date for adoption of written addresses by the governor and the PDP.
Like Umahi, Matawalle defected to APC, having been sworn in as PDP governor. The PDP is therefore asking for the same treatment for him, the state lawmakers who joined him. Incidentally, it is the same Justice Inyang Ekwo that is handling the matter.
Culled from Tribune
