Ebonyi: Why we have not acted on court judgment sacking Umahi

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has disclosed why it’s yet to act on the court ruling that sacked Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State and his Deputy, Kelechi Igwe.

INEC’s spokesman, Festus Okoye, said the body has not concluded deliberations on the court judgment that sacked Umahi and Igwe.

An Abuja Federal High Court had sacked Umahi, Igwe and 16 lawmakers for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Justice Inyang Ekwo had ruled that Umahi cannot transfer the votes that got him into power under the PDP into the APC.

The judge also ordered the electoral umpire to replace those affected with new names from the PDP.

However, INEC explained that it was yet to reach a conclusion on the ruling.

A statement by Okoye said it has been joined in 71 new cases in various courts in Nigeria, and most of them are not directly its concerns.

Okoye said INEC would meet next week to deliberate further on the issue before making its decision public.

He said: “Most of these cases, including the widely discussed one on Ebonyi State, involve either intra-party issues or litigants seeking for various reliefs from the courts that entail consequential orders that are binding on the Commission.

“Consequently, the Commission 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 in the light of the previously served ones and advise the Commission comprehensively. The Commission will meet again next week to deliberate on the matter and thereafter make its decision public.”