By Daniel Kanu
Mr Kenneth Udeze, a lawyer, is the National Chairman of the Action Alliance (AA), and former National Legal Adviser, Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) Nigeria.
The politician in this chat with Sunday Sun, speaks on his party’s recent national convention, problem with the APC-led government at the centre, and advice to Nigerians’ to support only credible candidates in all the positions in the 2027 elections, among other national issues. Excerpt:
Your party, Action Alliance (AA) held its national convention recently. Let’s know your take about the event?
Actually, it was an elective national convention, which started with ward congresses nationwide, on January 25, 2025, local government congresses on February 1, 2025, state congress-es, on February 8, and then, the national convention on Febru-ary 22, 2025. Overall, the general impression of our members was that we had a massively success-ful outing, to the glory of God. The outcome is worth-appreciating.
What were the highpoints of the national conven-tion?
Okay, on the periphery, a new set of leaders that will interface with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the electorate, security agen-cies, etc, with the required au-thorisation to function in their respective offices as the legiti-mate representatives under the platform of Action Alliance, has been elected, to serve the party and the general public, for at least the next 24 months. But in-trinsically, we used the opportu-nity to strengthen our party’s in-ternal structures, to plug all the loopholes that almost destroyed our party due to unwarranting and baseless litigations, so that we can settle down to work, and help in making democracy in Ni-geria, a reality.
How do you feel about the elonga-tion of your tenure by two years? Would you say that between now and 2027, you will be able to groom a capable successor?
A good leader is one who has the ability to raise more leaders among his followers. Leadership is not a position, but an action. Over the years, as AA National Chairman, I have been able to groom so many potential na-tional chairmen, who will even perform excellently more than myself. So, the extension of the tenure of the National Executive under my leadership is not be-cause I still have much work to do, in raising leaders, but rather, to leverage on the existing good-will and connections within my arsenal, to launch the party from prominence to preeminence within the period.
Let’s know your plans for the re-building of the Action Alliance after several years of crises?
I want to set a campaign tem-plate which the party can look on, while we plot our way towards making good impression, both in the development of democracy in Nigeria, and also having more of Action Alliance presence in governance system. The high-light of our activities this term, is as follows: “To stabilise the party leadership and organs of the party at all levels, to attract more membership and harness the available potentials, to posi-tion the party to win elections; to honour the past leaders of the party; to institute measures that will guarantee level playing ground for members who wish to run for elections; to improve on voters education in conjunction with stakeholders in our politi-cal system which includes, the INEC, CUPP, IPAC, electorate and foreign donor agencies; also, to encourage mass mobilisation of electorate during campaigns or training workshops, to par-ticipate in our electoral system and shun every vices of electoral fraud and violence.”
Political parties have already started to re-strategise towards the 2027 general elections. What is the thinking of Action Alliance leaders in this regard?
In our party, we are not am-bivalent about what to do al-ways, and like the general prac-tice of all political groups like ours, we are not left out in the planning and expected strategi-sation schemes for dominance and victory as well. How to go about things is the responsibility of our NEC and National Think Tank Group. But be rest assured that our plans are still evolving.
Several assaults are being made against Local Government auton-omy contrary to the landmark de-cision of the Supreme Court. What is your take on this development which constantly leads to misinterpretation, crises in parts of the country?
Let me address this question this way. I have a serious prob-lem with the way APC and the president are enforcing the Su-preme Court position on local government administration. There is no section in that judg-ment that stated that the Federal Government must select those to administer the council. You are aware that Action Alliance has a seat in the Rivers State Council of Etche, and if not for the pragmatism of Governor Fubara, the APC government wanted to scuttle things there when the State Electoral Com-mission announced the election programme. The same thing happened again in the just-con-cluded Local Government elec-tions in Osun State. The ensuing events in Osun State present a comprehensive case study in dis-abling institutional inertia and political manipulation through visionary leadership. In an era marked by tough political rival-ry, the court and security agen-cies should not be entangled in partisan disputes and inter-polit-ical matters, as they risk being exploited as mere tools in the power struggle. Please, let us do well to avoid national disgrace.
With your experience in the Co-alition for United Political Parties (CUPP), do you think ongoing plans for coalitions and alliances by political leaders across the country towards the 2027 elections will yield meaningful results?
What you are observing is called a bridge building project, and frankly, there is nothing bad in it. In a heterogeneous society, certain parties form alliances in order to alleviate fears of domi-nation and other minority prob-lems. The cloud is gathering, and strongly too. The attitude of APC/President Tinubu, towards the opposition and people of Ni-geria, is unacceptable. So, the coalition is quite imperative. We are resolute in standing against outdated practices, coupled with a pragmatic embrace of innova-tive thinking to ensure that de-mocracy remains intact.
A lot of Nigerians see the In-ter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) as a toothless bulldog. How would you react to this assertion bear-ing in mind the high level of crises within and among political parties in the country, including constant cross-carpeting and defection of politicians?
In the first place, IPAC is not and can never be a toothless bulldog, because it is playing its ancillary role of enhancing and stabilising democratic practic-es among the component groups excellently. The challenges con-fronting IPAC is basically the winner-takes-all syndrome in our polity. You can see the mess making the rounds in our gov-ernance system as the executive has polarised all government establishments; as the judicia-ry, security organisations, and even the legislators are doing everything to impress the gov-ernment in the centre, instead of the Nigeria people. By steering clear of political entanglements, our courts/police can ensure that their core mission remains intact and free from the cor-rupting influences of external pressures and partisan manipu-lation. Ultimately, for Nigeria to truly evolve beyond rhetoric and symbolic gestures, our courts and security agencies must be more professional minded, and leave politics alone.
What is your take on the constant bickering between the Senate Pres-ident and Senator Natasha, on the floor of the chambers?
The private matter between the two illustrious citizens in the Nigerian Senate should remain their private issue, but when it gets to the public service expec-tations of Nigerians from them, there should be decorum and respect. The Senate President should restrain his best politi-cal interest as far as the lady is concerned. He is just the first among equals, and Sen. Mad-am Natasha, I will advise you to follow the rules of the Senate always. However, I don’t think that what transpired the other day in the Senate warranted any suspension, because when such a thing happened between Dis-tinguished Sen. Saraki, and Sen Akpabio, he was not suspended by the then Senate President.
How do you see the recent policies of the current administration in indi-rectly increasing taxes being paid by the citizens through hike in charges for essential services even when the people are being weighed down by the poor economy, poverty, hun-ger and high cost of living?
The state of welfare of the cit-izens of this country has become a big burden and object of worry to anyone in any veritable office in the country, as the number of calls for support in one area of life and the other, have increased so much that most people are even running away from pick-ing calls. That is the dangerous aspect of taking decisions with-out verifying the implications very well. The challenge is that this current administration does not seem to be researching well before they come up with certain policies. It is like singing to the choir to state that our problem in the country started after the removal of the fuel subsidy. But how much have we saved since then? What is the government doing with the funds saved from the subsidy removal? There is no government in the world that does not subsidise things for their citizens one way or an-other. Please can someone tell me what is being subsidised in Nigeria? It is so sad, that while talking about these things, it sounds like a broken plate. As a political party, we are calling on all Nigerians to drop their short memory syndrome, and do well in the next general elections, to support credible candidates in all the positions. We are ready to avail Nigerians such candidates at the right time.