Court nullifies Madumere’s impeachment as Imo deputy governor

APGA guber aspirant seeks Okorocha’s removal

An Imo High Court sitting in Owerri and presided over by Justice Benjamin Iheaka has declared the impeachment of Prince Eze Madumere as the state’s deputy governor invalid and of no effect.

In his three-hour ruling, Iheaka berated Chief Judge Paschal Nnadi and the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Militus Nlemadim, for their “inability” to adhere to the provisions of Section 188 (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) before removing Madumere from office.

The deputy governor was impeached by the House of Assembly on July 31 this year, same day the court restrained the parties in the dispute to stay action.
Justice Iheaka held that the Chief Judge dared and constituted a seven -man panel to investigate Madumere without compliance to the seven-day lifeline provided by the constitution.

The presiding judge said observed that the lawmakers commenced impeachment procedure against the plaintiff on July 11 while Justice Nnadi inaugurated the panel on July 20. He maintained that the decision to constitute the panel nine days after the House’s resolution was inadmissible in law.

The court recalled that it had restrained the chamber’s speaker, Acho Ihim and the Assembly (ninth and 10th defendants) in the suit from proceeding with Madumere’s ouster until the determination of the case.

Meanwhile, a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state, Uche Onyeaguocha, has called for Governor Rochas Okorocha’s removal from office by the legislature on the strength of his involvement in the saga.

The call was contained in a statement issued yesterday in Owerri by his Chief Press Secretary, MacDonald Enwere. The statement reads in part: “Following the recent nullification of the purported impeachment of Prince Eze Madumere today (yesterday) by an Imo State High Court, the frontline APGA governorship aspirant in the state, Uche Onyeagucha, has called on the House of Assembly to commence the impeachment of Governor (Rochas) Ethelbert Okorocha.