Court stops inauguration of Ekenze as Okorocha's new deputy governor

An Owerri High Court has halted the swearing-in ceremony of Calistus Ekenze as the new Imo State deputy governor.

Ekenze was appointed by the Imo House of Assembly on Monday, July 30, 2018, to replace Eze Madumere, who was impeached for gross misconduct and abandonment of the duties of his office.

Madumere's impeachment was in defiance of the ruling of a state High Court that restrained the lawmakers from any further moves regarding the impeachment process, pending the hearing and determination of the matter.

A court ruling handed down on Tuesday halted the process and prevented the Chief Judge of the state, JusticePaschal Nnadi, from completing Ekenze's inauguration after top officials waited for hours at the Sam Mbakwe Exco Chambers inside the Government House in Owerri, the state capital.

Imo State Attorney-General, Miletus Nlemadim, disclosed that the government will obey the order while also doing everything possible to vacate it and swear in Ekenze as the state's deputy governor.

State governor, Rochas Okorocha, also disclosed in a statement that his government will obey the order despite objections to it.

"The governor had insisted that the interim order be obeyed not minding some issues raised by senior lawyers in the government against the order, insisting that his administration must continue to obey valid court orders and also served on the government or agents of the government," read a statement signed by his spokesperson, Sam Onwuemeodo.

Okorocha vs Madumere

Madumere has long fallen out with Okorocha because the governor favours his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, to be his successor after the end of his second term.

With Madumere also nursing an ambition to replace Okorocha as governor, he has aligned with a different faction of the All Progressives' Congress (APC) that has been fighting Okorocha's faction for control in the state.