The factional chairman of Action Allied (AA), Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, has called on the presidency and international community to investigate the refusal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise his party’s candidates’ list.
Omoaje in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja said he has written severally to INEC on all the party’s court cases, and their outcomes, adding that the electoral umpire had reportedly refused to do the needful.
He said the court had ruled that Chief Kenneth Udeze, whose faction of AA presented Mr. Hamza Al-Mustapha to INEC as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 Presidential election, is not the authentic leader of the party.
Omoaje, who noted that the list of nominees for all offices presented to INEC by Udeze’s faction is also not valid, wondered why the commission had not complied with the judgment.
He said: “Action Allied is not a political party in Nigeria that INEC can believe it can suppress and impose a presidential candidate on its good people. We have seen how corrupt INEC is and its efforts in sabotaging the persistent’s push of President Muhammadu Buhari in having a smooth transition of power.
“We in AA are affirming to Nigerians and the world at large that Hamza Al-Mustapha is not the Presidential candidate of Action Alliance and we will relent at nothing until the right thing is done.
“The court has held that Mr. Udeze, whose faction of AA presented Mr. Hamza Al-Mustapha to INEC as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 Presidential election, is not the authentic leader of the party, so his lists of nominees for all offices is also not valid. So, what does INEC still want if not corruption?
“What Yakubu Mahmood and INEC are doing bothers on corruption and it harps on our democracy and the world must know that. I repeat that we are stopping at nothing until the needful is done. All we are saying is that INEC should recognize the list coming from the legitimate Chairman of the party.
“However, we must commend the efforts of the Chairman in making sure Nigeria gets the best it can. But then, how prepared are his subordinates in the commission and the chairman of the commission, Yakubu Mahmood himself? Is he sabotaging his efforts or are his subordinates sabotaging his efforts without knowing or something is going on somewhere and the general public is not aware?
“The Yakubu Mahmood Nigerians know do not joke with the implementation of court cases. Why Should the implementation of Action Allied, AA, remain a mirage despite elections drawing closer with each second that passes by?
“To base our discussion on facts, in 2019, the political party, Action Allied, AA, had a congress that removed its National Chairman Chief Barr. Kenneth Udeze and its National Secretary, James Vernimbe. After the party officially communicated the development to INEC in writing. INEC wrote the said suspended (chairman) Chief Barr. Kenneth Udeze on the 9th of August, 2019 in a letter signed by the then Ag. Secretary of the commission, A.T Yusuf.
“Item 5 in the letter, read, ” It is therefore regrettable that the commission shall suspend your recognition as National Chairman and National Secretary respectively pending the party’s notice to the commission on your resumption as National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively”.
He continued: “Aftermath the letter, in 2021 a judgment determined by Hon. Justice Suleiman B. Belgore at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, suit No: FCT/HC/CV/ 1734/21 on -2021 in a case between Action Alliance, Chief (Barr.) Kenneth O. Udeze (Claimants) and INEC, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, Doreen Ifeoma Maduka-Arisa (Respondents), the court held the view that the 2nd plaintiff Kenneth Udeze has been suspended by the party at the time when the refusal of the list of his candidates was forwarded to INEC for upload to the INEC site and as such the 1st Defendant was on good grounds in refusing the names submitted by the 2nd plaintiff for the said election.
“Similarly, on Friday 7th of January, 2022, Action Alliance, Chief (Barr.) Kenneth O. Udeze, John Okechukwu Ikeotuonye (Appellants ) and INEC, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, Doreen Ifeoma Maduka-Arisa (Respondents), appealed the Federal High Court judgment at the Court of Appeal, Abuja Judicial Division holding at Abuja, in a judgment delivered by Ali A. B Gumel JCA, he struck out the case.
“Earlier, at the Federal High Court on, the 4th of November, 2022, the same case was struck out. Despite all this evidence, INEC still recognizes this particular faction, while the legitimate chairman of the party, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje is still relegated behind the scene”.
