The All Progressive Grand Alliance has faulted the implementation of the ruling of the Court of Appeal reinstating chairmen of local government areas sacked by the state Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Benard Akoma, the party, on which platform Okorocha was elected, said that since the state had appealled the ruling, the step taken by the police had become an illegality.
The chairmen of the councils sacked by Okorocha were, mainly, elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party during the regime of former Governor Ikedi Ohakim.
The statement by Akoma reads in full: “APGA frowns at the unconventional manner in which the implementation of the Appeal Court judgment on local government councils in Imo State is being pursued.
“The party condemns the haste with which the police has moved to dislodge the activities in the local councils in Imo State without due regard to laid down legal procedures.
“It is regrettable that the action of the police is coming on the heel of an appeal by the Imo State Government against the judgment.
“More worrisome is that while the appeal and motion for notice of stay of execution of the judgment have been served the appropriate quarters, the police ignored all these but instead continued to pursue the execution of a judgment whose appeal is before the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land.
“It is a known fact in law that whenever a motion for stay of execution is pending before a court of competent jurisdiction, all parties are expected to maintain status quo.
“We wish to state that the party has never been served with any drawn-up order nor Forms 48 and 49, which, ordinarily, are necessary warnings about consequences of disobedience as to empower the police to enforce the judgment by force.
“APGA in Imo State therefore cannot be said to have breached any judgment of the court as to warrant police invasion of the local councils to enforce the court judgment.
“We wish to state that APGA as a party is founded on the rule of law as demonstrated in Anambra State and other related cases and our position is that all parties should allow the judicial process to run its full steam as the party is prepared, willing and ever ready to abide by the outcome of the Supreme Court at the end.”