The State High Court sitting in Abakaliki, Monday struck out the suit challenging the defection of Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State from the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, to All Progressives Congress, APC in the State.
The Plaintiffs were Senator Sonni Ogbuoji and the APC Governorship
candidate in the 2019 general election, his Deputy, Architect Mbam
Ogodo, and the APC as a Party.
They are seeking the Court to hold that Governor Umahi, having
defected to APC from the PDP through which he was elected, ought to
vacate the office of the Governor upon defection.
He plaintiff added that having come second in the 2019 election,
demanded to be sworn in accordingly.
The Court held that having regard to section 188 (1) of the 1999
Constitution as amended, the defendant – Governor Umahi – has not
offended any provision of the Constitution or the Electoral Act in his
defection to APC.”
The Court further held that having regard to section 308 of the
Constitution, it is even wrong to institute criminal or civil proceedings
against the office of the Governor.
The Court, therefore, dismissed in its entirety, the suit filed by the
plaintiff for lacking in merit and awarded Five Hundred Thousand Naira
as damages against the plaintiff.
