Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi, yesterday, shrugged off insinuations suggesting he was weighed down by a recent court decision, which sacked his administration.
This came as a Federal High Court in Abuja prepares to deliver judgment tomorrow in a suit filed by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade.
The PDP, through its counsel Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, had filed the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/975/2021, before Justice Taiwo Taiwo, seeking an order sacking the governor and his deputy over their defection to All Progressives Congress (APC).
Fielding questions before he joined a meeting of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) with President Muhammadu Buhari at State House, Abuja, Umahi argued: “There is no constitutional provision that says a governor can be sued in the first place.”
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had, on March 8, ordered Umahi; his deputy, Kelechi Igwe, and 16 lawmakers to vacate their seats, following their defection from PDP to APC.
Umahi said: “Do I look worried? Am I still not David? You see…God has plans for everything. Nobody sacked my administration. And I think that God allowed one court to give judgment that I go nowhere…allowed another court to say, because we defected, vote belongs to the party.
“The highest court has said that votes belong to the candidates. And that’s why, even though APC won the election in Bayelsa State, the deputy governor’s credentials was defective.
“And even a day to his swearing-in, the Supreme Court ruled, disqualifying the candidate of APC that won the election because of his deputy. So, if votes belonged to the party, the Supreme Court, in their wisdom, would have just asked for the man that won the election for the party to bring a substitute to do that.”
He added: “So, I’m not worried, because, in the first place, there is no constitutional provision that says that a governor can be sued. I’m not sue-able.
“If the people that crucified Christ knew that it was to bring salvation to the whole world, they wouldn’t have done that.”
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday, gathered from Court Seven, where Justice Taiwo presides, that the judgment in suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/975/2021, filed by PDP against Ayade and his deputy, will come up on Friday, March 25.
Taiwo had, on Monday, ordered two House of Representatives members representing Cross River and 18 lawmakers from the state’s House of Assembly to vacate their seats, following their defection to APC.
