David Umahi, the governor of Ebonyi, and his deputy were sacked on March 8 as a result of their defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress. The Court of Appeal in Abuja has now overturned that decision (APC).
According to a Friday ruling by a three-member panel of the appeal court, a governor or deputy governor who leaves the party on whose platform they were elected is not subject to any punishment under the country’s Constitution.
The appellate court ruled that the sole course of action available to a political party who feels wronged by the defection of a Governor or Deputy Governor is to investigate the constitutional provision for impeachment, according to Justice Haruna Tsanami, who wrote the lead ruling.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja agreed with a previous ruling rendered by the court’s Enugu division on the identical matter.
