Politics
Abia: Ogar gets certificate from INEC, to take over from Gov Ikpeazu
Mr Uche Ogar may likely take over from Governor Okezie Ikpeazu as governor of the state anytime from now.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday, handed over the Certificate of Return to Ogah in fulfilment of the order by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja who sacked Ikpeazu.
The judge affirmed that Governor Ikpeazu does not possess the requisite qualification to contest the election as governor, in that he did not furnish credible evidence of payment of tax, to the Abia State Government.
The court therefore directed INEC to issue a certificate of return to Mr. Ogah, the candidate who came second in the Peoples’ Democratic Party’s governorship primary.
Read also: Breaking! Court sacks Okezie Ikpeazu as Abia governor (Updated)
As the latest news filtered into the state, the governor, who was billed to deliver a speech at the Abia state University, hurriedly left the venue of the event with his entourage.
A chieftain of the PDP, Prof. Jerry Gana who was also billed to deliver a speech at the event, along with other dignitaries also left.
Meanwhile, there is uneasy calm in the Government House and capital city, Umuahia as the news spreads.
The development has thrown a spanner in the political arrangement in the state known as Abia Charter of Equity which seeks to distribute political power equally among the zones in the state.
With the sack of Ikpeazu, the governorship goes back to Abia north, which has enjoyed the post for eight years under Theodore Orji, the immediate past governor.
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