Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday appealed against Monday’s judgment.
Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja held, that Ikpeazu was not qualified to participate in his party’s primary election, having made false claims in his tax information which he submitted to his party, and which he party later submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The judge held that Ikpeazu’s false claim about his tax payment violated Article 14 of the PDP Electoral Guidelines 2014.
In their separate notices of appeal filed yesterday, Ikpeazu and his party faulted the judge’s reasoning and contended that it was not within the jurisdictional powers of the Federal High Court to sack a governor in view of the provision of Section 141 of the Electoral Act.
In the notice of appeal filed by his lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), Ikpeazu raised five grounds of appeal upon which he urged the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment.
“The trial judge erred in law when he ordered as a consequential order that the appellant vacates his officeý as the Governor of Abia State immediately when there was no jurisdiction in the Federal High Court to remove or vacate the occupier of the office of the governor of a state or order the removal of such officer after the unsuccessful challenge of the result of the election at the Tribunal and swearing in of the appellant as the governor,” he said.
Ikpeazu argued that the only power, authority and order exercisable by the Federal High Court was to disqualify the candidate from contesting the election based on section 31(6) of the Electoral Act 2010.
Ikepazu also faulted the judge when he held that he did not pay his tax for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 as at when due, when he was a public officer whose tax deduction was under Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme where tax deductions were from the source of his monthly salary by the tax authorities which issued all the tax receipts and certificates.
He said the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue Services that issued him with the tax certificates had not declared the certificates forged and that the trial court did not invite the issuing authorities to give evidence in the course of the trial.
Ikpeazu said the plaintiff in one of the suits, Samson Udechukwu Ogah, was not a an employee of the Abia Board of Internal Revenue and no employee of the board testified that the tax certificates were forged.
He accused Justice Abang of violating his right to fair hearing by embarking on judicial investigation without giving him (Ikepazu) the opportunity to address the court on the issue.
“The learned trial judge erred in law when he held that the appellant presented false information to INEC by his ingenious meticulous study and investigation of documents filed in courts ýin the recess of his chambers and thereby violated the right of the appellant to fair hearing.”
“The decision of the judge which arose from the judicial investigation without opportunity to the appellant violated the appellant’s right to fair hearing”, the governor said.
The PDP, in its notice of appeal, argued that the trial court erred in law when it held that it had jurisdiction to hear the suit which was on whether section 24 (f) of the 1999 constitution was complied with.
“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.”
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.”
Nigerianeye…..
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