PDP disagrees with Court judgement over ikpeazu's sack as governor

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has appealed against the judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which sacked Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state, for presenting false tax information.

According to Daily Trust, in the appeal lodged on Tuesday, June 29, the party disagreed with the judgment of the court, which sacked the governor and ordered Uche Ogah as PDP’s rightful candidate for the governorship election that held in Abia State in April, 2015.

The party in the appeal stated that the court erred when it declared Uche Ogah as PDP’s rightful candidate for the governorship election that held in Abia State in April, 2015 because there was no evidence was led that the said Uche Sampson Ogah participated in the 2015 Abia state gubernatorial elections.

It said: “The honourable trial court misdirected itself when it construed the provisions of the PDP Constitution to the detriment of the appellant without giving the appellant a chance to be heard and thereby occasioned miscarriage of justice,” the PDP said.

In the particulars of the error, the appellant said Ukeagbara and Mba being “the 1st and 2nd respondents in the appeal did not

pray the trial court to construe the provisions of the PDP constitution.”

“No evidence was led that the said Uche Sampson Ogah participated in the 2015 Abia State gubernatorial elections, yet, the trial court declared him as winner of the said elections contrary to the express provisions of section 141 of the Electoral Act.”

The party urged the Court of Appeal for “an order setting aside the judgment of the Federal High Court of Nigeria in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/10862014 delivered on the 27th day of June, 2016.”

In reaction, Uche Ogah who was declared as the PDP’s rightful candidate for the governorship election that held in Abia State in April, 2015 by the Federal High Court in Abuja, has urged Governor Ikpeazu to obey the order of the court and vacate office as governor of the state.

Speaking through his lawyer, Onyekachi Ubani, Ogah said the order of the court was explicit that the governor gave false information on the payment of his tax in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Meanwhile, the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rages on as the  Ogun state chapter of the party on Monday June 27, denied endorsing Ahmed Makarfi as the chairman of the party’s caretaker committee. 

In a statement signed Adebayo Dayo for the Ogun state party chairman, the party said the chapter’s attention has been drawn to reports that the state endorsed Makarfi.