Protests in Ebonyi over Umahi’s sack by court

The sack of Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State by an Abuja Federal High Court has continued to generate ripples across the State.

This is as the residents and community Leaders from Afikpo denounced their son and member representing Afikpo North/South Federal Constituency, Hon. Iduma Igariwey, who was named as Governor-nominee by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Following the Abuja Federal High Court judgement which ordered Umahi and his Deputy to vacate their offices for decamping from PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the PDP nominated Mr Igariwey and former Caretaker Chairman of PDP, Fred Udogu, as new Governor and Deputy Governor respectfully.

Igariwey, at a press briefing, urged INEC to issue him Certificate of Return as the Governor but Umahi said he has filed a stay of execution and appealled on the matter and that he was still the governor of the state.

However, thousands of residents from Igariwey’s hometown of Afikpo marched round the city on Saturday to show support for the Governor Umahi.

They accused the lawmaker and his party, PDP, of trying to delay the fast- paced progress and development of the town and the state in general being engineered by the Governor Umahi.

Receiving the crowd of protesters, Chairman of the Afikpo North Local Government Area, Obiageri Oko Enyim, noted that the people of the Council were solidly behind the Governor Umahi.

She urged the Umahi not to allow the antics of the Igariwey and the PDP to distract him from carrying on with the developmental projects he was doing for the people of the Council, including the ongoing flyover at Amasiri junction.

Chairman of Universal Secondary Education Board (UBEB), Hyacinth Ikpor, in a statement issued in Abakaliki, argued that defection was not one of the conditions in the constitution for removing a sitting governor or deputy.

“If you want to remove a governor or deputy, you go via impeachment. We have many cases at the Appeal and Supreme Court levels showing a governor can defect without losing his office. Atiku Abubakar defected and the case was contested up to Supreme Court and he won and retained his seat.

“What PDP is trying to do is to distract us here and there. I am using this opportunity to tell all Ebonyians to stand firm and support David Umahi to finish his tenure. At that time, we shall now know who to replace him.

“If you are governor of a state when you win election, as a governor, you are a governor for all,” he said.

Also, Ebonyi Council of Elders, in a statement by its Chairman, Ben Okah, said there cannot be two governors in the state.

They expressed worry over the political development in the state which, they said, could lead to anarchy.

The Elders advised political actors from the state, who they said were based in Abuja, to retrace their steps and stop indulging in actions that could throw the state into violence, reminiscent of what happened in 1999.

Other groups including a coalition of NGOs and CSOs, Ekubaraoha Youth Assembly and the Organised Labour in the state also backed Governor Umahi in separate statements.