This may be the end of the road for the governorship ambition of retired army general in Imo State, Lincoln Ogunewe, except he pulls any last minute surprise.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has finally recognised the Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje led executive as the authentic national leadership of the Action Alliance.
A Court of Appeal sitting in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, had on 11th November, 2022, affirmed Hon. Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje as the authentic and only National Chairman of Action Alliance, against Kenneth Udeze who was laying claim to the position.
INEC however, in disobedience to the court judgement, retained in its website the name, Kenneth Udeze as the National Chairman of Action Alliance.
The commission went ahead to publish Lincoln Ogunewe as the candidate of Action Alliance for the forthcoming November 11, 2023 governorship election in Imo State.
Ogunewe reportedly emerged from a purported primary election conducted by the Kenneth Udeze-led faction.
The Omo-Aje-led executive had to drag INEC and Ogunewe to a Federal High Court Abuja, urging the court to mandate the commission to recognize Ukadike Chinedu Humphrey, produced by a primary conducted by the executive, as the authentic candidate of the party for the governorship election in Imo State.
The commission, on Tuesday, caved in, erased Kenneth Udeze’s name in its website and published, Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje as the National Chairman of Action Alliance.
Other officers of the party whose names appeared on the website are: Amb. Suleiman Abdulrasheed – National Secretary, Alhaji Ibrahim Isah – National Treasurer, Pastor Obaro Samuel – National Financial Secretary and Barr. Rufai Abiodun – National Legal Adviser.
Addressing journalists, Wednesday, Omo-Aje said he had meeting with INEC on Tuesday, where the commission informed him of its decision to recognise him as the National Chairman of Action Alliance.
In a statement, Thursday, the Chairman of Action Alliance in Imo State, Comrade Ifeanyi Okponwa-Eze, lauded INEC’s decision to obey the court judgement.
Okponwa-Eze submitted that the commission’s action has finally placed impostors who infiltrated the party to where they belong.
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He maintained that Ukadike Chinedu Humphrey remains the governorship candidate of Action Alliance for the November 11 election in the state.
