Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, has lend his voice to the controversy trailing the sack of embattled Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, by a Federal High Court, Abuja.
Justice Abang Okon of an Abuja Federal High Court had on Monday sacked Ikpeazu as governor of Abia State over tax evasion.
The court had also ordered the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, to issue Certificate of Return to the first runner up in the 2014 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primaries in the state, Uche Ogah which was done on Thursday.
Despite INEC issuing the certificate of return to Ogah, Ikpeazu has continued to lay claims to the governorship stool, saying there is a "Notice of Appeal" pending on the matter.
However, the former NBA President maintained that by law, the embattled governor was no longer the governor of Abia State following the court pronouncement.
Agbakoba said, "The court has removed him as governor but the problem is that there's a transition period. But the court has removed him as governor and there's a new governor-elect who is yet to be sworn-in. and that is why I think there's a major political vacuum. Clearly, the Ikpeazu is no longer the governor by Law.
"I don't know the grounds which the other order from Abia State was obtained by one of the parties. But I do know that a judgment was given and a certificate of return was issued by INEC in Abuja. If they want to stay that order they have to go to the very court that passed the judgment.
"It is procedurally wrong towant to arrest that judgment us- ing another court of coordinate jurisdiction. The order of the Federal High Court in Abuja should be obeyed.
"A Notice of Appeal is clearly not a Stay and INEC has broken no Law in issuing Certificate of Return to Ogah. But they should have relied on the prudential principle by cautioning themselves, giving the fact that they have received a Notice of Appeal, which in itself, does not constitute a stay of execution of the order of the court. However INEC has broken no law by issuing the certificate of return to Ogah."
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