False tax clearance: Court sacks Gov Ikpeazu of Abia
(Nigeria) The Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State to vacate his office immediately.
Trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, gave the ordered when he
delivered a judgment in a case instituted by Uche Ogah of Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, on Monday in Abuja.
Ogah had accused Ikpeazu’s of submitting false information
in his tax clearance certificate to the party during the governorship primaries
in the state.
Abang ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission,
INEC, to issue a certificate of return to Ogah as the duly elected governor of
Abia.
He said the court relied on the Supreme Court decisions in
the case of Obi vs INEC and Ameachi vs INEC to make the consequential order.
The court said that Ogah, a PDP gubernatorial aspirant in
2015 election in Abia, was entitled to the certificate of return in the
election held in April 2015.
``It is hereby ordered that INEC, the third defendant should
immediately issue certificate of return to Dr Samson Ogah as governor of Abia
state in the election held in 2015 and restore to him all the entitlements as
the elected governor of Abia. Dr Okezie Ikpeazu is hereby ordered to vacate
office as governor of Abia immediately relying on the decision of the Supreme
Court in INEC vs Obi,’’ he held.
Abang held that the tax clearance certificate and income tax
receipts submitted by Ikpeazu were unknown to the law and made him ineligible
to contest the poll.
He held that the 2011 tax clearance certificate and income
tax receipt submitted to INEC before the 2014 PDP primaries contained false
information.
The court said that Ikpeazu’s appointment letter as General
Manager, Abia Passenger Integrated Scheme on July 18, 2011 spelt out his salary
and entitlements.
``Going by the appointment letter, Ikpeazu would have worked
for Abia Passenger Integrated Scheme for five months 12 days. The earnings of
the second defendant based on the letter of appointment by single calculation
in 2011 for five months 12 days is N493 or N546, 669 if not assigned government
vehicle.
``The tax payment submitted by the second defendant didn't
reflect this figure,’’ the court held.
Abang further held that the tax certificate indicated the
gross earnings of Ikpeazu for 2011 to be N1.14 million and the income tax was
assessed on this figure.
He also held that the date on the tax receipt filed by the
governor was on a Saturday, adding that Saturday, even in Abia was a public
holiday.
The court said that Ikpeazu did not file his tax clearance
in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and that all payments he made preceding the 2014
primaries were made in one day and not as and when due.
Abang held that Ikpeazu perjured when he said that he had
fulfilled all the requirements to contest the 2015 elections.
This, he said, was because he had failed to provide a tax
clearance certificate that was known to the law.
He added that the governor was not qualified to be the
candidate of the PDP in the primaries of 2014 and was also not qualified to be
fielded as the candidate for the 2015 election.
He held that Ogah was the qualified candidate to contest as
the candidate of the PDP for the 2015 election and his name ought to have been
forwarded INEC as the PDP candidate.
He said that Ikpeazu did not win the PDP primaries as he was
not eligible or qualified to contest the poll.
He also awarded N100, 000 cost in favour of the Ogah.
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