DAVID UMAHI: JUDGEMENT OF CONFUSION
Southwest People Parliamentary Agenda (SPPA) who’s primary focus is to provide a common vanguard through which huge reserve of human resources can be adequately harnessed to meet with the global challenges of twenty – first century and to see to the sustenance of true democracy where rule of law prevails.
SPPA is a coalition of past student and youth leaders of like minds within our great party APC in the south Western Nigeria drawn across the six Western state, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti state who share common aspiration of a better, well enlightened, economically liberated and intellectually sound society with the aim of bridging the gap towards having a collective front in which the voice of our time can be heard and represented at the national political space.
SPPA attention was drawn to the recent judgement by Justice Inyang Ekwo of Abuja Federal High Court ordering Gov. Dave Umahi and his deputy Dr Eric Kelechi Igwe to vacate office following their unlawful defection to the APC.
Justice Inyang asked INEC not to recognise Gov. Umahi and his Deputy as Governor and Deputy Governor respectfully and went further to ask PDP to forward names of replacements.
The southwest people parliamentary agenda thinks and beliefs that Justice Inyang forgot to note that the issue of public elected office holder defecting to another party has been addressed and rested since 2007 when President Olusegun Obasanjo through the then Attorney General had sort to remove Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar following his defection to ACN.
Delivering Judgement at the Appeal Court then Justice Umaru Abdullahi declared the action of the Federal Government unconstitutional, null and void.
When the case got to the Supreme Court
ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION & 2 ORS V. ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR & 3 ORS (S.C. 31/2007) [2007] NGSC 118 (20 APRIL 2007)
Justice Walter Onoghen while delivering Judgement stated that “The Supreme court noted that there is no express provision of the vacation of office of the vice president upon defection from his sponsoring political party to a rival party. The vice president can only resign from office as per the provisions of section 306 of the Constitution. The other clear provision relating to cessation of office and removal from office is said to be impeachment in sections 143 and 144 of the Constitution. Accordingly, the appeal was dismissed.
So, it is amazing how Justice Inyang of the Federal High Court wishes to upturn a subsisting judgement of both the Appeal and Supreme Court.
SPPA as an organization calls on Governor Davids Umahi Nweze, his deputy Dr Eric Kelechi and people of Ebonyi State to remain calm and go on delivering their constitutional rights as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria. We are eager to see how the Appeal and Supreme Court will react to this retrogressive judgement.
