Why we drag INEC, Uba Sani, others before election tribunal – AA
Why we drag INEC, Uba Sani, others before election tribunal – AA
By Femi Mustapha
The Action Alliance, (AA) party says it is in Court to challenge the 2023 Gubernatorial election results in Kaduna state that brought Gov Uba Sani to office over the unlawful exclusion of the party governorship candidate from the exercise.
The state governorship candidate in the just concluded 2023 governorship election Ambassador Suleiman Abdulrasheed, disclosed this while speaking to Journalists at the Election Petition
Tribunal in Kaduna on 6th June, 2023.
According to him the party filed a suit No. EPT/KD/GOV/2023 before the Court between Action Alliance (AA), Amb. Suleimam Abdulrasheed as 1st and 2nd Petitioners and Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), All Progressives Congress, (APC), Uba Sani and Adam Timothy Sherman as 1st, 2nd and 3rd Respondents respectively.
He said, there was no basis for excluding him from the race, because even though the name Adamu Timothy Sherman is listed above as the Candidate of the 1st Petitioner at the said election, the said Adamu Timothy Sherman is neither a member of the 1st Petitioner or was sponsored by the 1st Petitioner, nor did he participated in the governorship primaries organized, yet he is the candidate of the party in the state.
Amb. Abdulrasheed added that there is no reason for the 1st Respondent to unlawfully exclude him from the elections, hence the election is thus invalid for non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended)
According to him, while AA rejoices with Senator Uba Sani on his victory, however, it faulted the IINEC processes that excluded him as a governorship candidate from participating in the election.
He further said his Party, AA, has called the attention of the 1st respondent to an appeal filed by a former member of the party, Mr Kenneth Udeze before the Supreme Court.
In the suit No. SC/CV/1259/2022, filed by the said Kenneth Udeze against Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje and others, Udeze appealed against the judgment that authenticated the emergence of Omo-Aje as the national chairman of the AA.
He added that the said Kenneth Udeze who was suspended and subsequently expelled from the party had approached the Supreme Court to appeal the judgment won by the party’s authentic National Chairman, Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje
Amb. Abdulrasheed noted that INEC deliberately failed to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Acts and also failed to obey court judgements which were favourable to the party.
It would be recalled that the Court of Appeal and several other courts had ordered INEC to upload the names of candidates submitted to it by Omo-Aje on its website and paste same on the notice boards of all its offices.
The Courts also directed INEC National Chairman, Prof Mamood Yakubu to recognize the candidates submitted to the commission by Omo-Aje who is the recognized national chairman of the party.
