Iduma Igariwey, who was nominated by the Peoples Democratic Party, to replace the sacked Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi, has asked the embattled governor to vacate the seat in respect of the court judgement.
Mr Igariwey, a member of the House of Representatives, stated this while speaking with journalists on Thursday at the National Assembly, Abuja.
He said Mr Umahi must get a stay of execution from the same court that sacked him and not from a court in Ebonyi State.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had, on Tuesday, sacked Mr Umahi, his deputy, Kelechi Igwe, along with 15 lawmakers in the state over their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The court also ordered the PDP to nominate candidates to fill the seats and ordered the Independent National Electoral Committee to issues certificates of returns accordingly.
Mr Umahi was elected in 2015 and 2019 on the platform of the PDP before dumping the party in November 2021. He attributed his defection to the party’s poor leadership and accused it of playing politics of bitterness and anger.
After the court judgement, the PDP named Mr Igariwey and Fred Udogwu as governor and deputy governor-nominees, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State High Court in Abakaliki, the state capital, on February 28, dismissed a suit by a former senator, Sonni Ogbuoji, seeking the sack of Mr Umahi and his deputy on account of their defection to the APC.
Mr Umahi rejected the latest judgement, describing the judge as a “hatchet man. ”
He has since appealed the judgement.