2023: AA faction says Al-Mustapha not the party's presidential candidate, INEC accuses
A faction of the Action Alliance (AA) has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC) refusal to upload the names of its candidates to its portal could truncate the upcoming general elections.
He also said that Hamza Al-Mustapha is not the genuine presidential candidate of the party.
The group's national chairman, Adekunle Omo-Aje, said so during a press conference in Abuja on Saturday.
He spoke against the backdrop of the leadership struggle that has rocked his party, which has resulted in the emergence of two presidential candidates.
It should be recalled that at a national congress organized by the Omo-Aje leadership last year and monitored by INEC, Solomon-David Okanigbuan emerged as the party's presidential candidate.
But Mr. Al-Mustapha, a former security aide to the late Nigerian dictator, Sani Abacha, won the primary presidential election led by the Kenneth Udeze-led faction on June 9, 2022, in Abuja.
The INEC had recognized all the candidates presented to it by the party faction led by Udeze, despite court rulings declaring that he was no longer a member of the party. The court also ordered INEC to accept and publish the names of candidates sent to it by the AA's Omo-Aje leadership.
Mr. Udeze is still listed on the INEC website as National AA President.
'Yakubu is plotting against the 2023 elections'
Mr. Omo-Aje accused INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu of failing in his duties by refusing to comply with the court order asking the commission to upload the names of all candidates.
"We have fulfilled all INEC's election guidelines and requirements as per the Nigerian Constitution with the commission, but he (Mr. Yakubu) is determined to exclude Action Alliance from the forthcoming general elections of 2023," he said. -he declared.
He further alleged that "...Yakubu is secretly orchestrating a clandestine plan against the 2023 election, and Action Alliance will not stand idly by and watch our fledgling democracy be trashed and hurt."
He also said that instead of asking Mr. Udeze to challenge his suspension and expulsion from the party, he filed several lawsuits urging the courts to declare him national president of the party, but lost everything.< /p>
Mr. Omo-Aje said the party would hold a peaceful protest in front of the National Assembly to press its demands.
Legal battlePREMIUM TIMES reported that an AA faction presented Mr. Al-Mustapha to INEC as the party's presidential candidate for the February elections.
Zainab Abubakar, a judge at the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the INEC to drop Al-Mustapha's name as the AA's presidential flag bearer for the February 25 ballot.
Court orders INEC to replace Al-Mustapha as AA presidential candidate
In Ms. Abubakar's judgment at the Federal High Court, the judge quashed all candidate lists, including that of Mr. Al-Mustapha, submitted to the electoral arbiter by a party faction leader, Mr. .Udeze.
The judge confirmed the plaintiff, Mr. Omo-Aje, who brought the lawsuit, as the genuine national president of the AA, and his lists of n...
A faction of the Action Alliance (AA) has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC) refusal to upload the names of its candidates to its portal could truncate the upcoming general elections.
He also said that Hamza Al-Mustapha is not the genuine presidential candidate of the party.
The group's national chairman, Adekunle Omo-Aje, said so during a press conference in Abuja on Saturday.
He spoke against the backdrop of the leadership struggle that has rocked his party, which has resulted in the emergence of two presidential candidates.
It should be recalled that at a national congress organized by the Omo-Aje leadership last year and monitored by INEC, Solomon-David Okanigbuan emerged as the party's presidential candidate.
But Mr. Al-Mustapha, a former security aide to the late Nigerian dictator, Sani Abacha, won the primary presidential election led by the Kenneth Udeze-led faction on June 9, 2022, in Abuja.
The INEC had recognized all the candidates presented to it by the party faction led by Udeze, despite court rulings declaring that he was no longer a member of the party. The court also ordered INEC to accept and publish the names of candidates sent to it by the AA's Omo-Aje leadership.
Mr. Udeze is still listed on the INEC website as National AA President.
'Yakubu is plotting against the 2023 elections'
Mr. Omo-Aje accused INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu of failing in his duties by refusing to comply with the court order asking the commission to upload the names of all candidates.
"We have fulfilled all INEC's election guidelines and requirements as per the Nigerian Constitution with the commission, but he (Mr. Yakubu) is determined to exclude Action Alliance from the forthcoming general elections of 2023," he said. -he declared.
He further alleged that "...Yakubu is secretly orchestrating a clandestine plan against the 2023 election, and Action Alliance will not stand idly by and watch our fledgling democracy be trashed and hurt."
He also said that instead of asking Mr. Udeze to challenge his suspension and expulsion from the party, he filed several lawsuits urging the courts to declare him national president of the party, but lost everything.< /p>
Mr. Omo-Aje said the party would hold a peaceful protest in front of the National Assembly to press its demands.
Legal battlePREMIUM TIMES reported that an AA faction presented Mr. Al-Mustapha to INEC as the party's presidential candidate for the February elections.
Zainab Abubakar, a judge at the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the INEC to drop Al-Mustapha's name as the AA's presidential flag bearer for the February 25 ballot.
Court orders INEC to replace Al-Mustapha as AA presidential candidate
In Ms. Abubakar's judgment at the Federal High Court, the judge quashed all candidate lists, including that of Mr. Al-Mustapha, submitted to the electoral arbiter by a party faction leader, Mr. .Udeze.
The judge confirmed the plaintiff, Mr. Omo-Aje, who brought the lawsuit, as the genuine national president of the AA, and his lists of n...
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