Court sacks Ebonyi Council Chairmen

A Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki on Tuesday morning sacked all the 13 local government chairmen, vice chairmen and all the councillors elected in last year’s council elections in the state.
In a judgment delivered on the suit filed by one of the aspirants in the election Mr. Alieze Nweka of Ohaukwu local government area, the court ruled that the open ballot system used in the conduct of the exercise was inconsistent with the electoral law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It therefore nullified the elections conducted across the 13 council areas on September 28, 2013.
The trial Judge, Justice Mauren Onyetenu, also ruled that the Ebonyi State House of Assembly which adopted the open ballot system for the exercise acted “ultra vires.”
She added that the amendment of the local government law by the  House was unconstitutional.