Ikpeazu gets Supreme Court confirmation as Abia governor

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has been affirmed by the Supreme Court as the elected governor of the state.

The court dismissed the case of Uchechukwu Ogah, who got victory at the ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja to replace the governor.

Ikpeazu’s affirmation was sequel to the position of a five-man panel led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, who dismissed Ogah’s appeal for lacking in substance.

On June 27, 2016, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had in his judgment sacked Ikpeazu and instructed the state Chief Judge to swear in Ogah as the state governor.

A subsequent judgement on the same case on August 18, 2016, by a five-man panel of the Appeal Court led by Justice Helen Ogunwumiju, annulled Justice Abang’s judgment, setting aside all the orders, including the one directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a fresh certificate of return to Ogah.
Ogah not certified with the outcome of events following the appellant court judgement took the matter to the apex court.
However, the Supreme Court, in a lead judgment prepared by Justice Dattijo Mohammed but read by Justice Ejembi Eko on Friday, sanctioned the substantial decision of the Court of Appeal.

It held in its ruling that it was detrimental to Ogah’s case that the Peoples Democratic Party’s guideline around which the suit of the plaintiff was built was not presented before the court.
The apex court further said that Ikpeazu, as then a civil servant could hardly be found to have flouted tax payments when his tax deductions were at the source.

Read also: 60yr-old Osinbajo says, Buhari, 74, treats me as a son

Meanwhile the Supreme Court failed to agree with the appeal court on one issue. It said that contrary to the lower court’s decision, the suit filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja was rightly commenced by an originating summons.

The CJN, in his post-judgment comment, pointed that there was a “security breach” in the course of preparing the judgment.

He therefore cautioned politicians to allow the judiciary to do its job without interference, adding that there were attempts by politicians to use court officials to get to know Justices of the Supreme Court that would prepare the lead judgment and what the court’s decision would be.
Frowning at the situation, the CJN said the incident would be probed and assured that any politician found culpable would be sanctioned.

Soon after the judgement, Governor Ikpeazu, in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Enyinnaya Appolos, stated that the victory was a re-affirmation of the mandate given to him by the people, and now twice confirmed by the Supreme Court.

He commended the judiciary for standing firm on the side of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and called on Abians to join hands with him to ensure accelerated growth and development of the state.

He said, “The time for politics is long over, and I have forgiven all those that were bent on distracting me. Let all well meaning Abians, including my opponents, come and join us to grow and develop our state without distractions as we ultimately have stakes in the growth and development of our state and people

“Today, there is the work of Abia to do and history will judge us by how much of that work we do, not by how much politics we play. My doors are open to all, my ears are open to hear and my eyes are strong enough to read suggestions on how we can best deliver greater dividends to those who really matter: the great people of Abia State.”

 

RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears

Click here to download the Ripples Nigeria App for latest updates

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now