Umahi’s Sacking: INEC Defers Decision On Ebonyi Seats After Receiving Fresh Court Processes 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has deferred its decision on the recent sacking of Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

This, INEC said, followed different court orders and motions served to the commission in the wake of the sacking of Umahi, his deputy and 16 members of the state House of Assembly over their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (INEC).

INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said the electoral body was supposed to deliberate on the issue but decided to postpone the deliberations after receiving fresh court processes on the matter on Thursday (today).

“The Commission has been served with nine separate Orders and Motions from various Courts on this matter.

“Just as the Commission was about to commence deliberation on them, its attention was drawn to additional Court processes served today in respect of the matter.

“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,” Okoye said in a statement late Thursday.

THE WHISTLER earlier reported that Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered Umahi, his deputy and 16 members of the Ebonyi Assembly to vacate their offices while ruling in a case filed by the People’s Democratic Party.

The judge had held that the votes secured by them in the 2019 Ebonyi governorship and House of Assembly elections belong to the PDP and cannot be transferred to the APC by virtue of their defection.

This website also reported that the PDP had forwarded the names of Iduma Igariwey and Fred Udeogu to INEC to fill the positions of governor and deputy governor of the state.