By Femi Mustapha
The leadership of the Action Alliance (AA) has welcomed the judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, which affirmed Aare Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje as the party’s authentic presidential candidate and struck out the suit filed by Barr. Kenneth Udeze.
The party’s National Secretary, Hon. Miller C. Orgwu, made this known in a statement made available to the media in Kaduna on Tuesday.
Orgwu said the judgment had proved that the court remains the last hope of Nigerians and the sustainer of the country’s democracy.
Counsel to Aare Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje, Barr. Ayibiowu Doland, explained that the plaintiffs, who were not recognized by law or by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as having standing to act on behalf of the party, sued in the name of the Action Alliance. They sought, among other reliefs, an order directing INEC to release the access code to them so they could upload their particulars as candidates in the forthcoming 2027 general elections.
According to Barr. Doland, the suit was instituted by Barr. Kenneth Udeze, who purported to be the rightful National Chairman of the Action Alliance. He sought a court order compelling INEC to release the access code so he could upload the names of candidates who emerged from their purported primaries.
In its response, INEC told the court that it had acted in accordance with available court decisions on the substantive leadership issue. The Commission argued that Udeze’s tenure had elapsed, as he had been National Chairman since 2017 or thereabouts.
INEC further argued that, based on subsisting court judgments, Udeze had been expelled from the party and there was no evidence of his reinstatement. Therefore, in light of the current state of the law on party leadership, the court declined jurisdiction and struck out the suit.
In its ruling in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1377/2026, Action Alliance & 5 Ors v INEC, before the Honorable Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo, the court identified three issues for determination.
On the first issue—whether the plaintiffs had proved that INEC disobeyed any court order—Justice Ekwo held that they had failed to identify the specific judgment that INEC allegedly disobeyed.
On the second issue, the court held that the plaintiffs were asking it to sit on appeal over decisions of higher courts and courts of coordinate jurisdiction that had already been decided based on the party’s constitution. The court further held that it lacked jurisdiction to review or interpret judgments of an appellate court or courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
On the third issue—whether the action had been rightly commenced by originating summons—Justice Ekwo held that, under the Rules of Court, an originating summons is used to construe deeds and wills, not to interpret judgments. He therefore held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the plaintiffs’ case, which sought to interpret judgments by way of an originating summons.
The court also held that it was not the venue for parties to resolve their internal disputes and consequently struck out the suit for lack of jurisdiction.
In a striking remark during proceedings, Justice Ekwo was quoted as telling Kenneth Udeze, “I no see any judgment wey pronounce Kenneth Udeze as National Chairman,” thereby dismissing his claim to the party’s leadership.
The court noted that the plaintiffs were not the persons recognized by law and INEC as entitled to represent the party, and that their attempt to take over the party’s structure and hijack its candidacy ahead of the 2027 general elections had failed.
With the ruling, Aare Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje remains the Action Alliance’s presidential candidate, a development the party leadership described as a victory for internal democracy and the rule of law.
