Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has apologised to the Federal High Court judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, who sacked him and his deputy, Eric Igwe, in a judgement on Wednesday.
Justice Inyang had ordered Umahi and his deputy to vacate their seats for decamping to the All Progressive Congress after winning their election under the People’s Democratic Party.
The presiding judge noted that votes belong to political parties and not a candidate, and asked for the Independent National Electoral Commission to replace the duo with names submitted by the PDP.
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Umahi, in a swift response, had waged an unscathed verbal attack at the respected judge, labelling the judgment as an attempt to embarrass the ruling party, while declaring an open defiance of the ruling.
His comments attracted a response from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Olumide Akpata, who called out the embattled governor for his utterances.
However, less than 24 hours after calling out Umahi, Akpata has revealed that the governor has apologized for his utterances.
In a statement on Thursday, the NBA President said Umahi’s apology would in turn be transmitted to Justice Inyang Ekwo.
“On 9th March 2022, I issued a statement unequivocally condemning the reaction of H.E. Engr. Dave Umahi, the Governor of Ebonyi State to the judgment of the FHC Abuja which ordered him and his Deputy to vacate office. I also demanded an apology and a retraction of the comments.
“Following that statement, H.E. Engr. Umahi made extensive efforts to reach me and in the course of our conversation, I reiterated that the NBA has no interest in the case other than to ensure that the sanctity of the judicial system is protected and the rule of law respected.
“In line with our demands, H.E. Engr. Umahi addressed a cross section of Ebonyi State citizens, where he unreservedly apologised for his comments, clarified his intentions and very importantly too, called for calm from his supporters while urging them to refrain from denigrating the Judiciary.
“I will immediately transmit this apology to His Lordship, Hon. Justice Inyang Ekwo and My Lord the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria, who is the head of the Judiciary in Nigeria, and urge them to also accept same.
“I must restate for the sake of emphasis that there is a well established procedure for challenging unfavourable decisions of courts of competent jurisdiction and the NBA under my administration will continue to fulfil its mandate by rising to the defence of the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, and the sanctity of court orders.
“Now that the right thing has been done and the appeal process has been activated, we shall resume our backseat and allow the process take its course.
“As far as the NBA is concerned, this brings an end to this unfortunate episode but we hope that important lessons have been learnt.”
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