Umahi had last week, signed an executive order banning the use of primary school premises, marketplaces and parks for campaigns by political parties ahead of the 2023 general elections.
He had insisted that political parties, who want to use schools, markets and park facilities must apply, and pay a refundable sum of N5 million to the Ebonyi Ministry of Education.
But at a press conference in Enugu, the groups, which described the order as obnoxious, anti-democratic and a contravention of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, threatened to take legal action if the order were not set-aside after 24 hours.
The groups, which included: Human Rights Defenders; Democratic Rights Ambassadors; Ebonyi First Vanguard and Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), condemned restrictions placed by the governor on public gatherings and the use of public spaces for campaigns at a time the Electoral Act and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have given approval for parties to reach out to the electorate through campaigns.
A spokesperson for the groups, Sampson Nweke, further said that such a ban is an ambush on the democratic process, and a deliberate attempt to frustrate the peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections in Ebonyi.
“It is an act of corruption for Umahi to ban other political parties from campaigning in the state even when he has converted Akanu Ibiam International Conference Centre, which is a public property, to the secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and campaigning freely in public spaces, and with public resources.”
“The operation of section 1(5) or the 1999 Constitution, does not permit that rights expressly conferred on Ebonyi people by both the Constitution and Electoral Act 2022 be taken away or encumbered through a malicious executive order.
“Umahi is, hereby, advised to respect the Constitution, which he swore to protect, by withdrawing his unconstitutional executive order immediately.
