Defection: Court orders Umahi, Igwe to vacate office as governor, deputy

A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, ordered Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi to vacate office after his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a judgment, also ordered Dr Eric Igwe to stop parading himself as deputy governor of the state.

Justice Ekwo declared that having defected from the PDP, under which platform they came into power, the duo are deemed to have resigned from the office and, hence, no longer entitled to be called governor and deputy governor.

The judge said it was constitutionally wrong for a candidate elected into an office on a platform of a political party to defect to another political while still holding office.

He said the votes gotten by Umahi and Igwe on March 9, 2019 were PDP votes and not APC.

Our correspondent reports that Justice Ekwo had on Jan. 19 fixed Tuesday for judgment in the suit filed by the PDP against the governor and his deputy.