< img src="https://eyewitness101.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/court-dismisses-suit-seeking-to-remove-umahi-as-ebonyi-governor-for-joining-apc.jpg" width="480" height="319" alt > A suit looking for to get rid of Dave Umahi as governor of Ebonyi state for defecting to the All Progressives Congress from the Peoples Democratic Party has actually been dismissed.

The fit was dismissed by an Abakaliki Division of the Ebonyi State High Court, on Monday.

According to the court, the governor did not flout any arrangement of the Electoral Act or the constitution to necessitate his elimination from workplace.

Umahi had in November 2020, discarded the PDP upon which he was elected 2 terms and moved over to the APC.

Owing to the development, the plaintiff, Senator Sonni Ogbuoji, approached the court by method of stemming summons and prayed the court to hold that the Governor, having defected to APC from the PDP, should leave the office of the Governor upon defection.

It is pertinent to note that Senator Ogbuoji was the APC’s governorship candidate during the 2019 election.

However Governor Umahi, in his defence, argued that the complainant was counting on the pre-election/election credentials problems, which ought not to be.

He further argued there was no provision in the constitution that provides for defection as one of the grounds for the getaway or removal of an individual as Governor or as Deputy Governor.

He pointed out certain judicial pronouncements on similar matters, specifically at Appellant Courts.

In his judgement, Justice Henry Njoku, kept in mind that the plaintiff did not come through relevant guidelines of the court to set up the coming from summons.

In spite of the abnormalities, the judge said the Court chose to amuse the match in the interest of justice.

The court held that having regard to area 188 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as modified, the offender (Governor Umahi) has actually not upset any provision of the Constitution or the Electoral Act in his defection to APC.

The Court even more held that having regard the governor having regard section 308 of the Constitution is covered by the resistance provision and as such, it was incorrect to set up civil or criminal proceedings against the office of the Governor.

The judge, therefore, dismissed in its entirety, the suit filed by the complainant for lack of benefit.

He likewise awarded N500, 000.00 as damages against the complainant.

ToriNG