Expelled members lack moral, constitutional rights to represent us — Action Alliance

By Austine Emmanuel, Kaduna

The Action Alliance (AA) has taken a swipe at a former member of the party, Mr Kenneth Udeze for allegedly misinforming the public and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in particular on issues that affect the party.

This was contained in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Olu Omotoso, and made available to journalists in Kaduna on Wednesday.

The statement stated that Udeze, having been suspended and subsequently expelled from the party, lacks the moral and constitutional rights to represent the party or speak on its behalf.

The leadership of the party also expressed concerns on why the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could give recognition to an expelled member of the party and failed to recognize the authentic national chairman of the party, Hon. Adekunle Rufai Omoaje whose election was held at the last national convention of the party held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital was supervised by INEC as provided by the constitution.

The party noted that the electoral body erred by giving undue recognition to Udeze despite furnishing it (INEC) with all the court judgments that affirmed the expulsion of Udeze.

The party recalled that the Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court had all affirmed the expulsion of Udeze, stressing that the recognition given to Udeze by INEC amounts to contempt of court.

Reacting to a recent statement issued by Udeze where he apologised to INEC on behalf of the AA, the party stressed that the statement was a mere vituperation as Udeze is not a member of the AA and as such lacks the right to speak on behalf of the party, saying that the AA has a structure through which it operates.

Omotoso, who spoke on behalf of the Action Alliance party, accused Kenneth Udeze of impersonating the party’s national chairman. Omotoso urged security operatives to investigate Udeze and, if found guilty, prosecute him for allegedly pretending to be the party’s chairman.

Omotoso stated, “It has come to the attention of the authentic national leadership of our party that Kenneth Udeze continues to falsely present himself as the National Chairman. This is despite a ruling by the highest court in the land. We are perplexed as to why the commission still engages with him, in defiance of court verdicts.”

He further clarified, “Our party, Action Alliance, has no intention of blackmailing anyone, including the INEC Chairman, as alleged by this unwelcome usurper. Our objective is to expose Udeze’s deceitful tactics to the commission, which include misrepresenting himself as our chairman while concealing court judgments against him.”

Omotoso emphasised that Udeze is not even a member of Action Alliance, let alone its chairman. He noted that court rulings from the Federal High Court in Abeokuta, the Court of Appeal in Ibadan, and the Supreme Court have confirmed Udeze’s suspension and expulsion from the party, and these judgments have been filed with the commission.

“We are baffled as to why the commission continues to recognize Udeze as the party’s national chairman,” Omotoso said. He criticised Udeze for falsely claiming that an appeal he filed with the Supreme Court, which was dismissed in 2022, had somehow become a favourable judgement for him. Omotoso called on INEC Chairman Prof. Yakubu and the commission’s leadership exercised greater caution in dealing with Udeze, whom he labelled as an agent of deceit.

He concluded, “INEC, being a creation of the law, should adhere to legal dictates. Given the legal expertise on INEC’s payroll, including several Senior Advocates, there is no justification for Prof. Yakubu to be unaware of the legal status of our party’s leadership. Kenneth Udeze has no standing to represent or act on behalf of Action Alliance, as he is not a member of our party.”