Some lawmakers in Ebonyi State were affected by the court ruling that sacked the Governor of the State, Dave Umahi, and his Deputy, Dr Eric Kelechi Igwe.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Governor Umahi, his Deputy and the lawmakers were fired from office by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
They were sacked on account of their unlawful defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The court declared their defection unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void and ordered them to immediately vacate their offices.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a separate judgment in a suit by the PDP on Tuesday, ordered the Speaker of the House of Assembly and his co-defectors to immediately stop parading themselves as members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly.
He held that the votes that brought them to office belonged to the PDP and that the legislators cannot hold on to the votes having elected to defect from the party that nominated them.
Justice Ekwo also held that the votes cast for PDP in the 2019 election are not transferable to the APC that failed in the election.
It restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognizing or according any recognition to them as elected members of the House of Assembly.
Justice Ekwo ordered that all monies collected from the top period of their defection to the judgment date must be recovered from them.
TNG reports some of the lawmakers affected include Odefa Obasi Odefa, Victor Chukwu, Kingsley Ikoro, Joseph Ununu, Nkemka Okoro, among others.
Justice Ekwo had, on Jan. 19, fixed today for the judgment in the suit filed by the PDP against the governor and his deputy.
Sixteen (16) lawmakers, including the Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly were affected.