By Mariyah Adamu, Abuja
National Chairman of Action Alliance, AA, Kenneth Udeze, said there is no contempt judgement against the former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu by the Federal High Court, Osogbo.
Udeze made the clarification in a statement in Abuja, yesterday against the backdrop of a purported order of contempt against Yakubu by the Federal High Court, Osogbo.
He challenged the aggrieved members of the party to produce the said order.
He said the judgement of the Federal High Court, Osogbo overruled the previous judgement of the Court of Appeal on the crisis in the party.
The chairman noted that the application filed at the Federal High Court, Osogbo was allegedly secretly done to deceive the court.
According to him, the aggrieved party members had gone to the FCT High Court, Federal High Court, Abuja and the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division and lost all cases.
He said the five cases were about who is the authentic national chairman of Action Alliance.
He said the authentic national leadership of the party had long been settled in favour of Udeze’s executives up to the Court of Appeal.
He said while waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision on the crisis, the same members who had joined issues with the party leadership and failed, filed a separate matter at the Federal High Court, Osogbo against INEC only, by claiming that they were purportedly acting on behalf of the party.
He said the party did not sue INEC and Yakubu, and did not mandate anyone to do so.
He asked the chief judge of the Federal High Court to avoid conflicting judgements.
The statements reads “On the issue of purported court order against the former INEC Chairman, Professor Yakubu, I want Nigerians to disregard such false rumors as there is no such judgment.
“The busy bodies making noise with such frivolous propaganda should present the said order and, moreover, allow the former INEC chairman enjoy his retirement, having contributed so much to electoral reforms and deepening democracy in Nigeria.
“That Action Alliance faithful across Nigeria and beyond should remain calm and law-abiding. That the national leadership of the party led by Chief Udeze has directed our team of lawyers to do everything legally to vacate the judgement obtained by Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, his agents and privies from the Federal High Court Osogbo.”
Besides, “it may interest Nigerians to note that the same Omoaje, his agents and privies that ran to the Federal High Court Osogbo and fraudulently obtained the judgement in their favour has a pending appeal at the Supreme Court challenging one of the Court of Appeal judgements that recognises Udeze’s leadership of the party in Appeal Number: SC/CV/162/2024.
“Instead of Omoaje, his agents and privies to wait for the final determination of their appeal pending at the Supreme Court in one way or the other, he ran to the Federal High Court Osogbo for forum shopping and secretly filed a fresh suit against INEC fraudulently using Action Alliance as the first plaintiff without the consent and authority of the party’s national leadership and without joining the Udeze led-NEC. He obtained this judgement against subsisting judgements of the Court of Appeal in favour of the Udeze led-NEC of the party.”
It asked INEC not to recognise the judgement of the Federal High Court, Osogbo.
“That the Independent National Electoral Commission is hereby urged not to give recognition to the judgement obtained by Omoaje, his agents and privies from the Federal High Court Osogbo and continue to recognise the Udeze-led national leadership of Action Alliance based on the various Court of Appeal judgements.
“That the commission should as a matter of urgent public importance inform Omoaje, his agents and privies to wait for their appeal at the Supreme Court and stop the forum shopping of favourable judgements from one judicial division of the Federal High Court to another.
“That the chief judge of the Federal High Court should kindly direct the transfer of all Action Alliance related matters pending at various judicial divisions of the Federal High Court secretly filed by Omoaje to Abuja Judicial Division where other Action Alliance related matters are pending to avoid conflicting judgements and rulings by the same court.”
