The Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday forwarded two names to the Independent National Electoral Commission for onward issuance of certificates of return as the new governor and deputy for Ebonyi.

The opposition party said the electoral office should confirm Iduma Igariwey, a serving member of the House of Representatives, as the new governor. It also nominated Fred Udogwu to serve as deputy governor forthwith, according to a short statement released by its media department on Tuesday afternoon.

The submission came hours after Dave Umahi was removed as governor of Ebonyi by a federal judge in Abuja. The court said Mr Umahi had forfeited his governorship when he defected from the PDP to join the ruling All Progressives Congress last year. Mr Umahi apparently took the decision to enhance his chances of running as a presidential candidate on the platform of the ruling party. He has also been dropping President Muhammadu Buhari’s name as his major backer for his presidential ambition. 

It was yet unclear how INEC would implement today’s judgement, especially as Mr Umahi has the backing of the ruling APC that controls state tools needed to enforce it. Indeed, Mr Umahi did not indicate any plan of appealing the judgement when he reacted to it on Tuesday afternoon. He only excoriated the judge and vowed to defy the ruling and remain in office until next year when his tenure will be up.

A spokesman for INEC did not immediately return a request seeking comments about the controversy on Tuesday evening. 

The Supreme Court had previously ruled that any politicians who abandon the political platform that sponsored their election will lose such seats. However, politicians have continued to explore a loophole that allows them to switch parties if there’s a (factional) crisis within their party.