The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, sacked Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State and his Deputy, Eric Kelechi Igwe.
This is coming following their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC.
The court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the total number of 393, 042 votes governor Umahi secured during the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Ebonyi state, belonged to the PDP and same could not be legally transferred to the APC.
The court declared, that having defected to the APC, both Umahi and his deputy, not only jettisoned the PDP, but also the votes that belonged to it.
It held that going by the outcome of the governorship election, the office of the governor and deputy governor in Ebonyi state, “belong to the Plaintiff and no other political party”.
In January, barely 24 hours after National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Bola Tinubu announced his intention to contest the presidential election, Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi has also joined the race.
The Ebonyi governor, who left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC, had argued that the former ruling party was not ready to cede the 2023 ticket to the Southeast.