The Abuja division of Court of Appeal has started delivering judgment in the appeal filed by Governor Ikpeazu Okezie of Abia State against the ruling of a Federal High Court, Abuja which sacked him from office. This is because if a decision is already arrived at by the lower court, there would be nothing for the Appeal Court to decide.
Advertisement
The Justice Helen Ogunwumiju-led five-man panel of the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit.
The judge, also in the said judgment, ordered the governor’s rival who was the first runner-up in the primary that produced Ikpeazu as the candidate of the PDP, Mr. Uche Ogah, to takeover.
While upholding the appeal, the court awarded N100, 000 cost against Ogah.
Resolving all the five issues in favour of Ikpeazu, Justice Ogunwumiju said: “If Justice Abang does not understand how the civil servant format does work, he ought to have sought clarification”.
“I can not agree that the tax document submitted by Ikpeazu are irregular”. Ogah’s challenge to tax irregularities is severely out of place because there is no allegations of mob payment of tax.
“The lower trial judge was not right in his findings and decisions”, he insisted. I therefore resolve this ground in favour of the PDP.
The plaintiffs in the suit, Messrs Obasi Uba Ekagbara and Chukwuemeka Mba also contended that Ikpeazu was not eligible to contest PDP’s governorship primaries as “he did not pay his taxes for 2011, 2012 and 2013 as at when due”.
“It is my view that the judge committed a great injustice to the rules of natural justice by not listening to all sides In the case”.
“If the trial judge can not understand how civil servants tax clearance works he ought to have sought clarifications”, he stressed.
The panel of the apex court, led by Justice Mohammed Muntaka-Coomassie, set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, and affirmed the competence of the Federal High Court to try the case.
“With respect, we disagree with him in this conclusion because it is the person that makes allegation of falsehood that must prove it”.
She continued that Justice Abang lacked jurisdictions to interpret the provisions of the Court of Appeal being the rules of a superior court.
“From whatever angle one looks at the judgement of the trial Judge, the decision of his court was grossly erroneous”.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court that quashed the election of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu over the alleged presentation of fake tax papers.
Advertisement
In his speech the PDP BoT chairman Senator Waheed Jubril said the party hierarchy was confident that the governor would win the case and expressed confidence that Governor Ikpeazu would govern Abia well.
