AA distances self from Atiku’s purported endorsement

The Action Alliance (AA) on Sunday dismissed reports on its adoption of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar, as its candidate in this week’s election.

The AA National Chairman, Dr. Adekunle Omo-Aje, who made the clarification in a statement in Abuja, said the party has no plan to adopt any other person in place of its presidential candidate.

The AA led by the sacked national chairman, Mr. Kenneth Udeze, alongside other four political parties had on Saturday, adopted Abubakar as their presidential candidate in the February 25 election.

Other parties were Allied Peoples Movement (APM), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), and National Rescue Movement (NRM).

Omo-Aje said: “Our attention has been drawn to a fabrication and fraudulent arrangement, purportedly with some named political parties touching on stepping down for presidential candidate of People Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

“We make bold here to say emphatically that our party, Action Alliance, has no such arrangement at all, nor was anything as such ever contemplated among our ranks.

“This is to further reiterate for the umpteenth time that our party, Action Alliance, is never thinking of any kind of collaboration with any political party or any candidate whatsoever.”

He said the AA leadership had alerted Nigerians on the activities of some individuals who are no longer members of the party.

The chairman added: “Kenneth Obideche Udeze is a parasite that feeds on the blood of docile and gullible politician; he is a Merchant of Venice.

“As a political party of repute, Action Alliance has hosted a series of world press conferences to alert the general public that, Kenneth Obideche Udeze is not even a member of our party let alone having any locus standi to speak or act for, or on behalf of the party anywhere or anytime.

“This, we did, to save would-be victims of this fraudulent political venture from getting defrauded.

“If anyone thereafter gets entangled in his antics and scam expertise, our party, Action Alliance, will be absolved of any associated guilt.

“Our party, Action Alliance, has a presidential candidate that is neither being withdrawn nor dropped.

READ ALSO: 2023: AA, APP, ADC, 2 others adopt Atiku

“So, it is appalling to think that some political scouts without circumspect could still get scammed by this certified interloper as if they were charmed to blindfolds.

“We provided an extract from judgments of Federal High Court and Court of Appeal stopping him from his apparent odyssey as a usurper, an interloper, and a meddlesome busybody.”

Justice Zainab Abubakar of a Federal High Court, Abuja, had on December 22 last year declared that Udeze was not a member of AA and therefore cannot represent the party nor institute any legal action on its behalf.

Also, Justice Binta Nyako of the same court in a separate judgment on January 23, described Udeze as “a busybody and meddlesome interloper” who disturbed the peace of the courts and was fined N1 million.

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, had also affirmed that Udeze was no longer a member of AA having been expelled from the party.

The party was thrown into a crisis in June last year after two factions led by Omo-Aje and Udeze conducted parallel presidential primaries.

During the period, Mr. Solomon-David Akanigbuan emerged as AA presidential candidate in the primary election conducted by the Omo-Aje-led faction, while Maj. Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd), the former chief security officer to the late ex-head of state, Sani Abacha, was elected as presidential candidate by the Udeze-led group.

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