UMAHI REMIANS EBONYI STATE GOVERNOR SAYS INEC

 Dave Umahi Remains the Governor of Ebonyi says Inec: The recent political excitement that may have pervaded the PDP in Ebonyi State has been brought

to a temporary halt following the decision of the INEC not to issue certificate of return to

the PDP Candidates.

The electoral umpire cited a ton of conflicting judgments on cross-party membership that

made it impossible to decide.

Judge Inyang Ekwo ruled that Umahi should give up his position for joining the ruling

All Progressives Congress (APC) owing to the fact that the his position as the governor

of Ebonyi state came as a result of the trust people had in the party.
The judge said the law recognizes PDP as owners of votes cast in his both elections and not the sponsored candidates.

The agency initially met on 17th March to deliberate on the Abuja High Court judgement which

sacked Umahi from power.

INEC Commissioner, Chris Okoye, announced the agency’s position in a statement released yesterday.

The Committee

According to INEC,

“…the Commission met on Thursday 17 March 2022 on the matter, decided to defer its

deliberation on the Ebonyi cases and stepped down the listed Memorandum to enable its

Legal Services and Clearance Committee to study the new processes served on it in the

light of the previously served ones and advise the Commission comprehensively.

“Since then, the Commission has been served yet more Court Processes on the same matter,

bringing the total to twelve.

“The Commission deliberated extensively on these cases and decided to further suspend

action on the defection of the Governor and Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State and sixteen

members of the State House of Assembly from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the light of the conflicting judgements and

orders served on it from Courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
“The Commission also considers it prudent to stay action on the conflicting judgements

and orders being aware of the pendency of Appeals and Motions for Stay of Execution

of some of the judgements before various divisions of the Court of Appeal.”