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Tag: Action Alliance

  • Breaking: Edo Tribunal drops AA petition against Governor Okpebholo’s victory

    Breaking: Edo Tribunal drops AA petition against Governor Okpebholo’s victory

    The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the Action Alliance (AA) party to nullify the outcome of the state’s September 21, 2024, gubernatorial election.

    The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, ruled against the petition filed against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Governor Monday Okpebholo.

    During the proceedings, counsel for the petitioner, Adewale Adebayo, had urged the tribunal to uphold all the arguments and submissions made in favour of the party and grant the petitioners’ prayers.

    However, the APC countered the allegations, stating that the petitioners, who claimed there was over-voting, had failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove their case.

    The APC argued further that to prove over-voting, the petitioner needed to call polling unit agents, eyewitnesses who could testify to the alleged irregularities.

    The APC’s legal team contended that the AA had failed to meet this requirement, urging the tribunal to dismiss the case as it lacked merit, jurisdiction, and competence.

    In response, the tribunal agreed with the APC’s defense and struck out the petition, citing the petitioners’ failure to present sufficient proof of their claims.

    Additionally, the tribunal also noted in one of its ruling that, only the candidate who contested the election is legally entitled to challenge the outcome. Since the AA’s candidate did not contest the election, the tribunal held that the AA, as a party, lacked the standing to challenge the result.

  • Why we asked Tribunal to strike out our petition – Action Alliance

    Why we asked Tribunal to strike out our petition – Action Alliance

    The Action Alliance, one of the opposition political parties challenging the Bola Tinubu victory in the Feb. 25 Presidential Election, has withdrawn its petition.

    Counsel to Action Alliance, Oba Maduabuchi-Ume, SAN, told the Presidential Elections Petition Court (PEPC) sitting in Abuja on Monday that a motion for withdrawal had been filed to the effect.

    The five-member panel is headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani.

    Following Maduabuchi-Ume’s application, the court consequently struck out the petition.

    Maduabuchi-Ume told the newsmen in an interview that he acted on the instruction of the party.

    Meanwhile, the National Chairman of AA, Dr Adekunle Omo-Aje, while briefing the newsmen shortly after the withdrawal of the petition, said questions had been asked repeatedly about their motives and reasons for withdrawal of the petition.

    “To make the answers available once and for all, for all that care to know, we will avail you the straight reasons behind our actions here now.

    “We believe that this our address to you today will put to rest, whatever insinuation anybody may have had,” he said.

    According to him, to start with, our party, Action Alliance was neither challenging emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu nor the victory of APC in this instance, but protesting the process adopted by the umpire – INEC, in the build up to the election.

    “Our grouse is with INEC and its approach to Issues that concerns our party spanning over months buildup to the elections.

    “We have all reasons to be aggrieved with the snobbish treatment, and underrating approach of the umpire towards our complaints as touching the induced crisis in our party,” he said.

    Omo-Aje said the party’s grouse for approaching the Court of Appeal Presidential Tribunal was to show to the world the partisanship tendencies of INEC that maliciously worked against their party in conjunction with some political mafia to exclude it from participating in all the elections so far conducted.

    He said INEC was aware through many court judgments up to the Supreme Court decisions acknowledging him as authentic national chairman of AA.

    He said the commission practically created a parallel AA “leadership at its headquarters using one Kenneth Udeze as its personal national chairman.”

    “It is this Udeze that INEC allowed to field candidates for our party, and rejected the authentic list co-signed by me as national chairman and Amb. Suleiman Abdulrasheed as national secretary.”

    He, however  said that well-meaning Nigerians, home and in the Diaspora, including leaders of Afenifere, Ohaneze, the Arewa, the Middle-Belt Forum, captains of industries and community leaders, urged them to see the loss of the party as their own contribution to the unity of the country.

    Omo-Aje said the party resolved to withdraw the petition considering the unity of the nation.

    “Being witnesses and active members of the imbroglio that followed the annulment of the result of the famous June 12, 1993 Presidential elections believed to have been won by late Chief MKO Abiola, of the Southwest extraction, we do not want to be the reason our country – Nigeria will be thrown into another horrific experience of such.

    “Secondly, as active democrats in this democratic experiment, we shall not be used by proponents of Interim Government to achieve their concocted agenda of taken over government through the back door.

    “Thirdly, our party believe in the three key principles of a healthy democracy, which are: equity, fairness and justice.

    “The agitations around our country today is because parts or all of these key principles have been relegated,” he said.

    He said the party also considered those who participated and won elections in the polls.

    Besides, he said the party also believed in the ability of “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, being a proponent of restructuring, which has been one major reason why we have the barrage of agitation in our land today, to evolve a kind of policy that could engender resurgence of trust in our togetherness as a national entity.”

    “Truth be told, our country – Nigeria today, is at the precipice.

    “We need a personality that believe in policies that can repose trust in the aggrieved indigenous nationalities within Nigeria to reenact the loss of brotherliness among our diverse ethnicity,” he said.

  • BREAKING: Action Alliance withdraws petition against Tinubu

    BREAKING: Action Alliance withdraws petition against Tinubu

    The Action Alliance (AA) has withdrawn its petition against Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the 2023 Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Action Alliance announced the withdrawal of its petition against Tinubu at the pre-hearing session of the presidential election petitions tribunal on Monday.

    Oba Maduabuchi, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), is leading the legal team of the party.

    After declaring the intention of the Action Alliance to withdraw the petition, none of the representatives of the other parties expressed opposition.

    Prior to the announcement of the withdrawal, another lawyer had announced himself as the representative of the AA.

    He said the party wants the petition struck out because it did not consent to the action. But Maduabuchi insisted that he filed the petition on behalf of the 1st and 2nd petitioners.

    Subsequently,  Maduabuchi formally applied to withdraw the petition of the party.

    After listening to their submissions, the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal struck out the petition by the Action Alliance (AA).

    The five-member panel led by Justices Haruna Simon Tsammani with Stephen Adah, Bolaji Yusuf, Moses Ugo and Abba Mohammed as members, held that the dismissal was in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

    TNG reports there are now four petitions left out in the proceedings

  • YPP, AA announce candidates for Kogi governorship race

    YPP, AA announce candidates for Kogi governorship race

    Both the Young Progressive Party (YPP) and Action Alliance (AA) have announced candidate for the governorship election in Kogi State.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Dr Samson Omale emerged the YPP governorship candidate in Kogi, after a primary election held on Monday in Lokoja.

    Omale, who was the only aspirant, was unanimously affirmed and adopted as the party’s governorship candidate, in the presence of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials.

    The YPP Primary Election Committee Chairman, Dr David Komolafe, said that Omale had been duly screened and certified to participate in the primary election.

    Komolafe announced that a total of 184 delegates from all the 21 local government areas of the state were accredited to vote, in line with the party’s constitution.

    The chairman, who is also the YPP State Secretary, said that the only other aspirant, Mrs Funmilayo Olumodeji, had voluntarily stepped down for Omale earlier in the day.

    ”Omale has, therefore, been unanimously elected unopposed by the delegates since the other aspirant has stepped down,” he said.

    YPP Chairman in the state, Dr Victor Akubo, affirmed the decision of the delegates and appreciated the other aspirant for making the process simple and peaceful.

    Akubo congratulated Omale for emerging as the YPP flag bearer in the state, urging him to make the party and the state proud, if he became the governor.

    He described the governorship candidate as God fearing, transparent, accountable and competent, saying that his emergence was the will of God.

    The YPP chairman, who said that the exercise was free, fair, credible and transparent, thanked the INEC officials present for monitoring the exercise.

    Omale, in his acceptance speech, thanked the delegates and the entire party members for giving him the opportunity to be the party’s standard bearer.

    He assured the people of the state of enthroning a visionary leadership, digital economic development and the turning the state’s potential and resources to viable and profitable ventures.

    According to him, the state resources will be well harnessed, with improved infrastructural development and better welfare, while unemployment will be tackled under his leadership.

    Omale promised to make the state a template of development for Nigeria through viable leadership.

    He urged the people of the state to come out en masse and elect a credible leader like him who had their interest at heart.

    Braimoh wins AA governorship primary in Kogi

    Similarly, entrepreneur Olayinka Braimoh, on Monday emerged the governorship candidate of AA for the November 11 Governorship election in Kogi.

    Braimoh, also know as Young Businessman, scored 101 votes to beat his rival, Mr Simon Aku, who scored 4 votes after one of the contestants, Ada Haruna withdrew for Braimoh during the party’s primary election held in Lokoja.

    Mr Abanigwa James, the Returning Officer and chairman of the AA governorship indirect Primary Election Committee, who declared Braimoh winner, expressed gratitude to stakeholders for the peaceful conduct of the election.

    James also thanked the party’s leadership, the delegates and members of the party for their cooperation with the 7-man member committee, which ensured the emergence of a flag bearer for the Nov. 11 Governorship election in the state.

    Speaking to journalists after his emergence as AA Governorship candidate, the 46-year-old Braimoh, who hails from Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area, Kogi West Senatorial District, gave thanks to God for making his election possible.

    He said his election signified huge responsible to ensure that he appealed to the conscience of the people of Kogi to win the Nov. 11 Governorship election and deliver them from suffering and pains.

    “As an entrepreneur, I have been having serious burdens for my state, Kogi, where there is so much poverty, deprivation and suffering.

    “It’s understandable that there are no modalities for wealth creation in Kogi, but if elected as governor, I shall see to it that we create wealth through agriculture, mining, education and entrepreneurial drive.

    “We need to make money, save money and grow the economy of the state.

    “The land mass and the abundant mineral resources are sure ways of generating funds that could help provide the necessary infrastructure for good standard of living in Kogi,” Braimoh said.

  • We didn’t adopt Atiku as presidential candidate – Action Alliance

    We didn’t adopt Atiku as presidential candidate – Action Alliance

    The Action Alliance (AA), on Sunday, said it did not adopt former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate in the next Saturday’s election.

    The National Chairman of AA, Dr Adekunle Omo-Aje, in a statement in Abuja, said the party neither had such arrangement nor was it planning to adopt any other person in place of its presidential candidate.

    AA, led by the sacked national chairman, Mr Kenneth Udeze, alongside other four political parties, had, on Saturday, adopted Mr Abubakar as their presidential candidate for Feb. 25 poll.

    Other parties include Allied Peoples Movement (APM), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP) and National Rescue Movement (NRM).

    Reacting, Omo-Aje said: “Our attention has been drawn to a fabrication and fraudulent arrangement, purportedly with some named political parties touching on stepping down for presidential candidate of People Democratic Party Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    “We make bold here to say emphatically that our party, Action Alliance, has no such arrangement at all, nor was anything as such ever contemplated among our ranks.

    “This is to further reiterate for the umpteenth time that our party, Action Alliance, is never thinking of any kind of collaboration with any political party or any candidate whatsoever.”

    According to him, we had warned the general public of the activities of some political scavengers assembled by the recalcitrant usurper, who has been adjudged as a “meddlesome interloper” by a High Court of the land.

    “Kenneth Obideche Udeze is a parasite that feeds on the blood of docile and gullible politician; he is a Merchant of Venice.

    “As a political party of repute, Action Alliance has hosted series of world press conferences to alert the general public that, Kenneth Obideche Udeze is not even a member of our party let alone having any locus standi to speak or act for, or on behalf of the party anywhere, anytime.

    “This, we did, to safe would-be victims of this fraudulent political venture from getting defrauded.

    “If anyone thereafter gets entangled in his antics and scam expertise, our party, Action Alliance, will be absolved of any associated guilt.

    “Our party, Action Alliance, has a presidential candidate that is neither being withdrawn nor dropped.

    “So, it is appalling to think that some political scouts without circumspect could still get scammed by this certified interloper, as if they were charmed to blind folds,” he said

    According to him, to buttress our points here, we provided extract from judgments of Federal High Court (FHC) and Court of Appeal robbing him in his apparent odyssey as a usurper, an interloper, and a meddlesome busybody.

    Justice Zainab Abubakar of a FHC had, on Nov. 4, 2022 and Dec. 22, 2022, declared that Udeze was not a member of AA, hence, he cannot represent the party nor institute any legal action on its behalf.

    Also, Justice Binta Nyako of a FHC had, on Jan. 20 and Jan. 23 in separate judgments, decsribed Udeze as “a busybody and meddlesome interloper” who disturbed the peace of the courts and was fined N1 million each.

    Besides, two Court of Appeal judgments delivered on Jan. 7, 2022 and Nov. 11, 2022, affirmed that Udeze, having been suspended and expelled from AA, was no longer a member of the party.

    While Mr Solomon-David Akanigbuan emerged as presidential candidate of Omo-Aje-led leadership of AA, Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd.) was elected as presidential candidate of Udeze-led leadership of the party.

  • Election: Action Alliance endorses PDP, Atiku

    Election: Action Alliance endorses PDP, Atiku

    Action Alliance (AA) party has endorsed the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, for the Feb. 25 general elections.

    This is contained in a statement signed on Sunday in Abuja by Mr James Vernimbe, the party’s National Secretary.

    Vernimbe said that the endorsement was made during PDP’s mega rally in Yola, Adamawa state.

    According to him, the endorsement was informed and agreed after critical consultation with the party’s hierarchy and state chairmen.

    “AA has joined some other parties to endorse PDP and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa for the 25 February, 2023, presidential election.

    “The event was led by the party’s National chairman, Chief Barr Kenneth Udeze, accompanied by the National Secretary of the party, Vernimbe A James, with Six North East state chairmen of the party in attendance.

    “What led to the endorsement is that our presidential candidate, Hamza Almustapha, is not contesting to win.

    “Since 9 June, 2022, that he emerged as presidential candidate of the party till 16 February 2023, there have been no flag-off campaigns any where, no poster any where indicating his presence in the presidential race.

    “And Atiku Abubakar is the only candidate that has assured us of forming the government of national unity where other political parties will be accommodated because what we have today in Nigeria is winner takes all,” he said.

    Vernimbe said that the endorsement was done in the presence of the state chairmen of Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe and the Adamawa state Secretaries representing the state chairmen, Representative of Borno and party chieftain from Bauchi State.

  • Action Alliance: How political parties offered Ogun AA N500m to step down

    Action Alliance: How political parties offered Ogun AA N500m to step down

    The governorship candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) in Ogun State, Dr. Samuel Adeyemi, has revealed that political parties in the state offered the leadership of the party the sum of N500 million to collapse its structure for them.

    Adeyemi said the offer was rejected, saying the party had structures in all the 236 wards in the state.

    We have people who approached us, I won’t mention names, but it happened on August 11

    He disclosed this while speaking with newsmen at the party secretariat in Abeokuta.

    Adeyemi, who did not disclose the identity of the political parties, said the party was in the race to win the election in the state.

    He said, “We have people who approached us, I won’t mention names, but it happened on August 11. They (the opposition parties) were here at our secretariat, I won’t say more than that, and the amount (they offered) is between N200m and N500m, but we rejected it and they went home disappointed.

    “If we are here for money, we would have collected it and disappeared but we have to show them that we are not here to show and disappear. We mean business.

    “As a politician, if I want to go far, almost everybody offered us money, apart from the sitting government; almost everybody, I won’t say more than that.

    Action Alliance: How political parties offered Ogun AA N500m to step down

    “We have a structure in all the 236 wards in this state, and by the time INEC releases the list of party agents that they just recently uploaded, we must be between the first three of the highest holder of the polling units.”

    Adeyemi added that his administration would finance the state budget’s investment in cocoa farming.

    Earlier in his address, the AA leader, Dapo Adeyemi, described the party as a third force in the state.

    He said the party contested in the local government elections and polled numbers though it won none of the positions.

  • Nigeria Decides 2023: Action Alliance threatens protest at NASS over exclusion of its candidates

    Nigeria Decides 2023: Action Alliance threatens protest at NASS over exclusion of its candidates

    Action Alliance (AA) on Saturday, threatened to stage a peaceful protest at the National Assembly over alleged exclusion of its candidates from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s list for the 2023 general elections.

    The National Chairman of AA, Dr Adekunle Omo-Aje, stated this at a news conference at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

    Omo-Aje said that INEC’s alleged failure to upload the names of all the candidates presented to it by his leadership in spite of various court orders against the recognition of the list of candidates submitted by the sacked national chairman of the party, Mr Kenneth Udeze, might jeopardise the forthcoming polls.

    “We shall move to the National Assembly on a protest and, to submit our protest letter and to inform our lawmakers that, if the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, 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.

    Omo-Aje alleged that “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.”

    He said that Udeze was the party’s national chairman up to June 2019 before he was suspended and expelled.

    Omo-Aje said he emerged the national chairman after a national elective convention conducted in February 2020 and monitored by INEC officials.

    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.

    According to him, in spite of fulfilling all INEC electoral guidelines and requirements according to the Nigerian constitution with the commission, the electoral umpire is “hell bent on excluding Action Alliance from the coming 2023 general elections.”

    “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.

    “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.

    He also called on the Nigerian Bar Association to intervene in concertedly sanitising the legal profession by fishing out bad eggs among its membership.

    “There is a clique of lawyers today on our streets that neither cares about the ethics of the bar nor give credence to professionalism.

    “These lawyers sniff around for legal lacuna to exploit, not minding whether such constitute abuse of court processes or not.

    “In the course of our ordeal, we have seen a lot of these tactical unprofessional practices where lawyers are engaged by persons to sue themselves as if they were truly sued in real terms, ” he said.

    At a national congress held by AA in Abuja, Mr Solomon-David Okanigbuan emerged the party’s presidential candidate, among others.

    But retired Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the former aide to late Gen. Sani Abacha, also won the presidential primary election conducted by the Udeze-led faction on June 9 in Abuja.

    The electoral umpire had recognised all the candidates presented to it by the Udeze-led faction, despite court judgements declaring that Udeze was no longer a member of the party.

    There is also an order directing INEC to accept and publish all the candidates sent to it by the Omo-Aje leadership of the AA.

  • Lagos governorship: We have a candidate – Action Alliance

    Lagos governorship: We have a candidate – Action Alliance

    Action Alliance (AA) has said it has governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the 2023 polls in Lagos State.

    This is contained in a statement signed on Saturday in Abuja by Mr Oniru Ayinla, AA Lagos State Chairman.

    “This is to call the attention of the public to the false publication that is flying around that Action Alliance does not have a gubernatorial candidate in Lagos State.

    “This is representing a deliberate action to cause confusion among the electorate.

    “The party has a candidate whose particulars and credentials were officially submitted and published by the Independent National alliance Electoral Commission (INEC) with a copy of same in our possession.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the gubernatorial candidate of Action Alliance is Balogun Tope AbdurRazaq while his running mate is Salako Tosin Mautin,” he said.

    Ayinla urged all members of AA, its teeming supporters, the media and the public to disregard the said report as malicious and lacking in substance.

    He appealed to the media to correct all the negative narratives being reported which, he said, might not be unconnected to some political gimmicks by the party’s traducers.

  • Action Alliance distances self from law suit against Tinubu

    Action Alliance distances self from law suit against Tinubu

    The leadership of the Action Alliance (AA) on Thursday in Lagos dispelled the alleged litigation instituted against the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Bola Tinubu.

    Mr Adekunle Omoaje, National Chairman of AA, said in a statement that the APC presidential standard bearer, had not committed any offence that would warrant court case against him by the party.

    Recall that the purported suit against Tinubu, reported in some sections of the media on Wednesday, asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission from including the name of the All Progressives Congress in the ballot of the 2023 presidential election.

    The plaintiff, in the Writ of Summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/954/2022, reportedly obtained by journalists on Tuesday, predicated its request on the claim that both the APC and its presidential candidate were not qualified to participate in the 2023 presidential election on alleged forgery committed by Tinubu in 1999.

    The suit filed on behalf of the plaintiff by its lawyer, Upkai Ukairo, claimed that Tinubu forged the University of Chicago certificate he submitted in 1999 to aid his qualification for the 1999 governorship election in Lagos State, which was won by him.

    The suit has INEC, APC and Tinubu as first, second and third defendants respectively.

    Reacting to the suit, Omoaje said: “It has come to the notice of the leadership of Action Alliance that a suit was purportedly filed on behalf of the party at the Federal High Court, Abuja against the All Progressive Congress and its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    “The matter said to be filed and deposed to by one Upkai Ukairo and one Kalu Agu, has nothing to do with Action Alliance.

    “As a matter of fact, both Upkai Ukairo and Kalu Agu are alien to the party and its leadership. They most probably are effigies or at best imaginary personalities.”

    According to him, the party did not file any suit against Tinubu.

    He said, “no member of the party could institute a case on behalf of the party without his knowledge.

    “We advise the said respondents in the purported suit to disregard and discountenance the entire matter in its entirety as it did not emanate from my table as the National Chairman of the party neither was our legal desk in the know of such matter.”

    Omoaje urged Nigerians to be wary of persons with questionable character intending to take advantage of them.

    He said that the leadership of the party was busy working to fulfill all legal documentation required by law to participate in the approaching Osun State gubernatorial election and the 2023 general elections.