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An aspirant for All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairmanship, Saliu Mustapha, has backed the decision of Governor Dave Umahi, and his deputy, to appeal the Federal High Court judgment that sacked them from office.
In a statement issued on his behalf by his media aide, Dapo Okubanjo, Mustapha said it was gratifying that the governor filed a stay of execution while pursuing the appeal.
“It was really shocking that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ruled that Governor Umahi and his deputy should vacate their respective offices for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC.
“This is because it came few weeks after another Federal High Court of coordinate jurisdiction in Gusau had affirmed Bello Matawalle as governor of Zamfara State in a similar suit filed by PDP against his defection.
“Like many Nigerians, including several respected legal minds, I found the ruling strange, but it is great to know that Umahi is not prepared to take the ruling lying down. By taking the matter to court in Enugu and Abuja, the Ebonyi governor has shown that he is an embodiment of what our party stands for, a firm believer in the rule of law. Filing a stay of execution as well as lodging an appeal against the court ruling are major steps that are bound to calm so many frayed nerves, especially as a similar case PDP filed against the defection of Governor Matawalle failed.
“I am convinced that Governor Umahi’s appeal will succeed and our party will hold on to the mandate the good people of Ebonyi freely gave to the governor in 2019 after an astonishing first term performance,” Mustapha said.
He said the PDP was embarking on a wild goose chase by sending the names of two individuals to Independent National Electoral Commission as replacements for Umahi and his deputy.
