Again court orders INEC to recognize candidates presented by Action Alliance

By Musa Baba Adamu

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday reaffirmed its judgment compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to put up the names of candidates submitted to it by the national chairman of the Action Alliance (AA), Adekunle Rufai Omoaje.
On November 4, 2023, Justice Z. B. Abubakar in a ruling ordered INEC to recognize the candidates submitted to it for the presidency, National Assembly, governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections by Omoaje.
The court on Monday directed INEC to recognize the candidates and paste their names at its headquarters and all its state offices.
It also directed INEC to upload the names of the candidates on its website with immediate effect.
The lists include those who contested the last Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections and those contesting the governorship and House of Assembly elections in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Reacting to the judgement, the national chairman of the party, Dr Adekunle Rufai Omoaje alleged that INEC had failed to respect court judgments in the past.
He said the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu was hellbent on truncating the nation’s democracy through his flagrant disobedience to court orders, stressing that the actions of Yakubu are capable of undermining the confidence reposed in the electoral body.
He urged well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the INEC Chairman to respect court orders and restrain from efforts aimed at undermining the nation’s democracy.