Ikpeazu fails to quit as Abia governor as INEC issues certificate of return to Samson Ogah

A defiant Okezie Ikpeazu on Thursday urged residents of Abia State to disregard claims of his removal from office as governor.

READ: #BREAKING: Court sacks governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu

Mr. Ikpeazu said the residents should continue their normal business activities, saying there was no legal backing for such claims to manifest.

Mr. Ikpeazu’s appeal for calm followed the withdrawal of his certificate of return by the Independent National Electoral Commission which issued same to his challenger in his party’s gubernatorial primaries in 2014.

Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, the spokesman for INEC, said the electoral umpire issued certificate of return to Uche Ogah after Mr. Ikpeazu failed to send notice of appeal against the ruling of a Federal High Court on Monday.

Abang Okon, who handed down the ruling, said Mr. Ikpeazu presented fraudulent tax documents to run for governor as allegedly by Mr. Ogah before the court. Consequently, Mr. Okon ordered Mr. Ikpeazu to vacate office immediately.

But in a statement he issued shortly after news circulated that Mr. Ogah had been issued certificate of return by INEC, Mr. Ikpeazu said it was wrong for the electoral body to have proceeded with such action since he had appealed the ruling.

“I have received with concern report of the purported issuance of Certificate of Return to Mr. Uche Ogah by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as governor of Abia State, despite dependency of a notice of appeal and motion for stay of the orders made by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

“Our laws are clear on this matter. No one may be issued with a certificate of return let alone be sworn in as governor, when there is a subsisting appeal and application for stay.

“I want to appeal to Abians to remain calm and law abiding in the face of this provocation, unless and until the appellant courts have conclusively resolve the appeal, the status remains, I am still the Governor of Abia State,” Mr. Ikpeazu said.

But a source in Mr. Ikpeazu’s office told PREMIUM TIMES the governor’s legal team may have made “terrible mistake,” by failing to serve INEC the notice of appeal.

“To be honest with you, we have no proof of serving INEC the court notice that we’ve appealed the Monday ruling,” the source said. “We placed too much confidence in the legal team and I just pray they have not let us down.”

Meanwhile, The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has issued Samson Ogah the Certificate of Return as the new governor of Abia State, three days after Governor Okezie Ikpeazu was sacked by a court, the News Agency of Nigeria has reported.

A Federal High Court in Abuja had on Monday directed Mr. Ikpeazu to immediately vacate office after convicting him of tax evasion.

The court also ordered INEC to issue a certificate of return to Mr. Ogah, who contested the governorship ticket with the governor on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Mr. Ikpeazu had said through his Chief Press Secretary, Enyinnaya Appolos, that he remained the governor because he was challenging the judgment in a higher court.

As an appointee of Abia State Government from 2011 to 2014, he argued that his taxes were deducted at source.
He also argued that the state Board of Internal Revenue in 2014 issued him with valid tax receipts shortly before he contested the governorship election in the state.

A government spokesperson told PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday that Mr Ikpeazu was “not going anywhere”, and that he was remaining in office.

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