The Action Alliance (AA), on Saturday, accused the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, of plotting to make the 2023 general elections an exercise in futility.
The National Chairman of AA, Dr Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje, who made the allegations during a world press conference at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja, said INEC’s failure to upload the names of all the candidates presented to it would threaten the polls.
It would be recalled that in a national congress held by the party and monitored by INEC, Mr Solomon-David Okanigbuan emerged the party’s presidential candidate, among others.
But Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd.), the former aide to late Gen. Sani Abacha, had won the presidential primary election conducted by the sacked national chairman of the party, Barrister Kenneth Obidiche Udeze, on June 9 in Abuja.
The electoral umpire had recognised all the candidates presented to it by the Udeze-led faction of the party, despite court judgements declaring that Udeze was no longer a member of the party and order directing INEC to accept and publish all the candidates sent to it by the Omo-Aje leadership of the AA.
Addressing newsmen, Omo-Aje alleged that “Prof. Yakubu is covertly orchestrating a clandestine plan against the 2023 elections, and Action Alliance will not fold our arms and watch our nascent democracy rubbished and wounded.
“Gentlemen of the press, it has gotten to the level for us in Action Alliance to come out in the open and make categorical statements loud and clear on the rooftop to the hearing of all concerned citizens of this country about an orchestrated plan by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its Chairman — Prof Mahmood Yakubu in making the coming 2023 General Election a waste of the nation’s resources and cause chaos in the polity.”
According to him, we are at the receiving end of a calculated plan/agenda of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, going by his wicked meddlesomeness, through INEC, in the internal affairs of our party, Action Alliance.
“We fulfilled all INEC electoral guidelines and requirements according to the Nigerian constitution with the commission, yet he is hell bent on excluding Action Alliance from the coming 2023 General Elections.
“This forms the crux of our press briefing, to draw the attention of the relevant authorities and the nation in particular about the miscarriage of justice in INEC, actively promoted by its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu,” he said.
Omo-Aje, who said that Barrister Udeze was the party’s national chairman up to June 2019 before he was suspended and expelled, said he (Omo-Aje) emerged the national chairman after a national elective convention conducted in February 2020 by Alh. Abubakar Mohammed who took over as the acting chairman then and the poll was monitored by INEC officials.
“This brought in Hon. (Dr.) Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje and his team as the new National Executive Committee (NEC) of Action Alliance.
“And INEC had related with this new NEC of our party, until around April 2022 when a collaborative plan started between Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and Kenneth to return him (Kenneth) as chairman of our party through the back door,” he said.
He said instead of Udeze to challenge his suspension and expulsion from the party internally and through the courts, he instituted several court cases urging the courts to declare him national chairman of the party but lost all.
Omo-Aje stated that Udeze filed a case at FCT High Court in suit marked: FCT/HC/CV/1734/2021 before Justice Suleiman Belgore but his suspension and expulsion were affirmed on Nov 1st, 2021.
He said Udeze proceeded to Court of Appeal in appeal number: CA/ABJ/CV/879/2021 but the appellant court affirmed the lower court decision, among others.
“In order for the public to know the truth, we did a disclaimer in a national newspaper, the Guardian, warning members of the public from dealing with Kenneth Udeze as Action Alliance Chairman,” he said.
He said instead of Udeze to appeal the judgement in Supreme Court, he proceeded to FCT High Court in a suit marked: FCT/HC/CV/174/2022 before Justice Enejo Eneche where he assembled his colleagues to fraudulently represent AA and INEC using a fictitious name of one Chief Uzewuru Nwachukwu to procure a judgement returning him as party’s chairman.
According to him, it is unheard of for a lower court to override a higher court decision.
However, Omo-Aje said in another case at the Federal High Court (FHC) Abeokuta in a suit marked: FHC/AB/CS/120/2022, Justice J.O Abdmalik, in a judgment on 8th of September, 2022, further confirmed that Udeze was not even a member of AA and a cost of N1 million was awarded against his lawyer for misleading the court.
He said the Abeokuta judgment was appealed against and a Court of Appeal in suit number: CA/1B/378/2022 further confirmed the non-status of Udeze in AA on Nov. 11, 2022 with a further award of N1 million against his lawyer.
“We got a declarative judgment by my Lord Justice Zainab B. Abubakar in suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1759/2022 dated Nov. 4th 2022, directing INEC to accept all our candidates and served to INEC.
“Kenneth Udeze alleged that we got a fraudulent judgment and proceeded to the same court to file a suit to set aside the judgment.
“This he also lost in suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1759/2022 dated Dec. 22nd, 2022.
“In her judgment, my Lord Justice Zainab B. Abubakar described Kenneth Udeze as non member of our party, a busy body and an interloper then dismissed the case to set aside the earlier judgment of the court,” he narrated.
He said Udeze also lost before the Court of Appeal on January 5, 2023, in a suit marked: CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/1472/2022 where he had sought an order setting aside the judgement of Justice Abubakar of FHC, Abuja.
Omo-Aje, however, said despite the possession of a judgment from superior court, the INEC chair “chose to respect a questionable judgment from a lower court as submitted by his star boy, who is not even a member of our party.”
He said this was despite their letter to the commission pointing out the illegality of respecting a lower court judgment over a superior court’s.
“It was at this point that we realized that, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has vested interest to foist Kenneth Udeze on our party, Action Alliance, thereby constituting himself as a clog in the wheel of progress of our party.
“INEC chairman has refused to upload the list of all our party’s candidates for 2023 elections from Dr. Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje, the authentic National Chairman.
“This, he is doing, in defiance of various court orders as listed above that asked him to recognize Omo-Aje as National Chairman and, desist from further dealings with Kenneth Udeze,” he said.
According to Omo-Aje, all INEC’s action is unlawful, as you cannot build something on nothing.
“This smells of agenda to ambush 2023 General Election.
“We are doing this briefing now to alert all concerned, most especially other political parties who are already investing heavily in their campaigns right now, the National Assembly and Nigerians who are looking up to better election following the amended Electoral Acts, that is being applauded widely.
“It must be noted here going forward that PROFESSOR MAHMOOD Yakubu is already setting a booby trap on the road to 2023 general elections,” he said.
He, therefore, passed a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the commission as headed by Yakubu.
“We have no trust that he can organize free, fair, and credible general elections,” he said.
Omo-Aje said the party also planned to stage a peaceful protest at the National Assembly to press home their demands.
“After this, we shall move to the National Assembly on a protest and, to submit our protest letter and to inform our lawmakers that, if Mahmood is not called to order, there will be negative consequential effects on the outcome of 2023 elections.
“We shall use all legal channels to ensure we get justice against any form of exclusion from presenting our candidates for elections, and every such election stands the chances of annulment by law,” he said.
He, therefore, called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to intervene in concertedly sanitising the legal profession by fishing out bad eggs among its membership.
