More reactions have trailed the judgment of a federal high court in Abuja sacking Ebonyi Governor David Umahi from office, with allegations that the judgment might be part of a plot to muffle the chances of the South East to produce a Nigerian president next year.
A coalition of civil society organisations and some Igbo groups have thrown their weight behind the governor, urging him not to be distracted by the judgment.
Igbo Rights Agenda (IRA) alleged that the judgment might be part of a grand plot to whittle the chances of the South East to produce a Nigerian president from the region next year.
It asked Umahi to be relentless in his pursuit of the presidential ticket of his party; the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Espousing the conspiracy theory, IRA and other groups saw an undertone of taking out a strong presidential aspirant of Igbo extraction.
National Coordinator of IRA Dr Benson Uwaoma said: ‘Umahi has performed creditably as a governor and is a front runner for the presidential ticket of his party. We see what is happening as not ordinary; it’s part of a grand plot against Igbo. We see Igbo marginalisation playing out; why was the Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle not sacked on the same grounds. They had both defected to APC after winning the seats on the platform of the PDP.
‘We are also aware of the informed position of legal luminaries like Chief Mike Ozekhome on this issue indicating that the judgment was an aberration and would not stand on appeal. So, we urge Umahi not to be distracted as the whole thing would soon be over.’
Executive Director, Transparency and Accountability in Governance (TAIG), Success Iwak, in a statement on behalf of Coalition of Civil Society Organisations for Development, counselled people to be mindful of the fact that the governor was yet to exhaust his right of appeal in the courts.
The CSOs were upbeat that Umahi’s track record would continue to sustain his goodwill even as he survives what they described as ‘legal hiccups on his journey to the presidency.’
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