By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
The Action Alliance (AA) has again condemned the refusal of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize its Presidential candidates, Solomon -David Okanigbuan against Major Hamza Al-Mustapha in the 2023 general elections, saying failure might nullify the electoral exercise.
The National Chairman of AA, Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje made the appeal at a press conference held at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.
He noted that INEC’s failure to upload the names of all the candidates presented would threaten the polls.
Omo-Ajeat claimed that at a national convention held by the party and monitored by INEC, Solomon-David Okanigbuan emerged the party’s presidential candidate, among others.
However, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd.), the former aide to late Gen. Sani Abacha, 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 the newsmen, Omo-Aje alleged that INEC 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.
