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From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
The Action Alliance has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) before the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja.
In a petition endorsed by the National Chairman of the party, Dr Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, the party claimed that the presidential and National Assembly elections held on February 25 did not correlate with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
Specifically, the party hinged its decision on the non-inclusion of its candidates in the election as against various court judgments, which ordered INEC to recognize all the candidates of the party submitted to it by Omoaje.
Also joined in the petition was the standard bearer of the party in the presidential election, Major Hamsat Al-Mustapha whose candidature did not receive the blessing of Omoaje.
Omoaje reiterated that Hon. Solomon David Okanigbuan was the sole presidential candidate of the party, having emerged at the presidential primary election of the party held in Abuja and attended by stakeholders of the party, security operatives and the media.
He said the exclusion of Okanigbuan from the presidential race and the exclusion of other candidates submitted to INEC for the National Assembly election was against the rule of law and subsisting judgment of various courts, including the Court of Appeal.
The party, therefore, sought for an order of the Election Petition Tribunal to set aside the results of the presidential and National Assembly elections held on February 25 and to organize a fresh election where its recognized candidates would participate.
The Action Alliance also urged the tribunal to declare the presidential and National Assembly elections null and invalid as it fell short of standards enshrined in the Electoral Act, 2022.
The party noted that INEC deliberately failed to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act and also to obey court judgments, 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 Omoaje on its website and paste the same on the notice boards of all its offices.
The courts also directed INEC National Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu to recognize the candidates submitted to the commission by Omoaje who is the recognized national chairman of the party.
