A coalition of civil society groups has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to immediately recognise and publish the name of Joseph Oluwadare Fadojoe as the Action Alliance’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
The group made the demand at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, asking INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, to withdraw its recognition of Adekunle Omo-Aje and comply with what it described as subsisting Court of Appeal judgments on the leadership of the party.
The press conference was tagged, “Demand for Immediate Compliance with Court of Appeal Judgement on Action Alliance Leadership and 2027 Presidential Candidate.”
The convener of the coalition, Comrade James Okoronkwo, said INEC must comply with the appellate court’s decision affirming Kenneth Udeze as the National Chairman of the Action Alliance.
“We believe in the capacity of the INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, SAN, as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, to uphold the sanctity of the judiciary and correct this embarrassing anomaly,” Okoronkwo said.
The coalition alleged that INEC’s continued recognition of Omo-Aje as the party’s presidential candidate was inconsistent with the judicial decisions it cited.
It therefore demanded the immediate withdrawal of the recognition and the publication of Fadojoe’s name as the party’s presidential candidate.
“That the continued recognition of Mr Adekunle Omo-Aje as the Presidential Candidate of Action Alliance by INEC is illegal, null and void, and cannot stand in the face of the Court of Appeal Judgement affirming Mr Kenneth Udeze as National Chairman,” the coalition said.
The group also argued that INEC, as a statutory electoral body, must obey court judgments and should not be seen as choosing which judicial decisions to enforce.
“That INEC as an institution created by law, cannot and must not be seen to be disobeying the law or choosing which court judgement to obey,” it said.
The coalition maintained that Fadojoe was the “only duly elected, legitimate Presidential Candidate” of the Action Alliance for the 2027 election.
It warned that failure by INEC to act within a reasonable time would trigger further action by the group.
“Failure by INEC to comply with this legitimate demand within a reasonable time will leave this Coalition with no other option than to mobilize all civil society groups across the country for a peaceful mass action and to explore all legal options to compel compliance and defend our democracy,” Okoronkwo said.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of a prolonged leadership crisis within the Action Alliance.
The Court of Appeal has, in previous decisions, affirmed Kenneth Udeze as national chairman in litigation involving factions of the party.
However, reports also show that the dispute has involved competing court decisions and litigation over INEC’s recognition of rival factions, meaning the legal position surrounding the party’s leadership and candidate nominations remains contested.
The coalition nevertheless insisted that the electoral commission should act on the judgments it cited and resolve what it described as an “embarrassing anomaly” ahead of the 2027 elections.
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