The sack of Governor David Umahi by an Abuja High Court has continued to generate ripples across Ebonyi State.
This is as the residents and community leaders from Afikpo denounced their son and member representing Afikpo North/South Federal Constituency, Iduma Igariwey, who was named as governor-nominee by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Following the Abuja Federal High Court judgement which ordered Umahi and his deputy to vacate their offices for decamping from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the PDP nominated Mr Igariwey and former Careteker Chairman of the party, Fred Udogu, as new governor and deputy governor respectfully.
Igariwey at a press briefing urged INEC to issue him certificate of return as the governor but Umahi said he had filed a stay of execution and appeal on the matter and that he is still the governor of the state.
But thousands of residents from Igariwey’s hometown of Afikpo matched round the city on Saturday to show support for the governor.
They accused the lawmaker and his party, PDP of trying to delay the fast paced progress and development of the town and the state in general being engineered by the governor.
Receiving the crowd, Chairman of the council, Obiageri Oko Enyim, noted that the people of the council are solidly behind the governor.
She urged the governor not to allow the antics of the Lawmaker and the PDP to distract him from carrying on with the developmental projects he is carrying out for the people of council including the ongoing flyover at Amasiri junction.
Chairman of Universal Secondary Education Board (UBEB), Hyacinth Ikpor in a statement issued in Abakaliki argued that defection is not one of the conditions in the constitution for removing a sitting governor or deputy.
“If you want to remove a governor or deputy, you go via impeachment. We have many cases at the appeal and Supreme Court levels showing a governor can defect without losing his office. Atiku Abubakar defected and the case was contested to Supreme Court and he won and retained his seat.
“What PDP is trying to do is to distract us here and there. I am using this opportunity to tell all Ebonyians to stand firm and support David Umahi to finish his tenure. At that time, we shall now know who to replace him.
“If you are governor of a state when you win election, as a governor, you are a governor for all”, he said.
Ebonyi Council of Elders in a statement by its Chairman, Ben Okah said there are no two governors in the state.
They expressed worry over the political development in the state which they said could lead to violence.
The elders advised the political actors from the state, who they said are based in Abuja, to retrace their steps and stop indulging in actions that could throw the state into violence, reminiscent of what happened in 1999.
Other groups including a coalition of NGOs and CSOs, Ekubaraoha Youth Assembly and Organised Labour in the state also backed the governor in separate statements.