Abia State Governor Ikpeazu Sacked by Federal High Court of Appeal

Abia State Governor Ikpeazu Sacked by Federal High Court of Appeal

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday sacked Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for submitting false information to his party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of the party’s governorship primary elections in December 2014.

Ikpeazu had emerged winner of the governorship primaries and gone on to win the Abia state governorship election in April 2015. His victory at the polls was challenged by Mr Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) who lost at the tribunal but won at the Court of Appeal, prompting Otti to taee the case up to the Supreme Court, where he lost.

The Abia governor’s appeal of the Court of Appeal’s verdict was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court and all seemed to be well up until Monday when the Court of Appeal delivered judgment in a separate suit filed by Mr Uche Ogah, runner-up at the PDP governorship primaries in December 2014.

Punch reports that the court in its judgment, delivered by Justice Okon Abang, ordered Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to vacate office immediately for submitting false information to his party for the December 2014 governorship primary.

Justice Abang also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately issue a certificate of return to the plaintiff, Uche Ogah, who polled the second highest number of votes in the primary.