25th November, 2022
Duly elected chairman and secretary of the Action Alliance have disowned the suit filed by the party seeking the disqualification of the APC presidential candidate, Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
They told Justice B.F.M.Nyako of the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court that the suit was unauthorised and that the masterminds were dismissed officials of the party.
Justice Nyako in a ruling on 22 November approved the application by the duly elected chairman and secretary to be joined in the suit.
The Action Alliance party had filed the action against the Independent National Electoral Commission as first defendant, the All Progressives Congress as second defendant, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu as third defendant and Senator Kashim Shettima as fourth defendant.
The party is known to have filed several cases against Tinubu. One of them was struck out on Monday.
By the approval, Justice Nyako upheld the argument of the officials that the suit was never authorised by the appropriate organs of the party as those who filed the action had been determined by the Court of Appeal as unfit for office.
The case for joinder was filed by Mr.Adekunle Rafiu Omo-Aje, the national chairman and Ambassador Suleiman Abdulmalik, the national secretary of the Action Alliance respectively.
Both informed the court that Kenneth Udeze who initiated the suit has been sacked by the Appeal Court and that both, who are the only officers recognised by the party at no time authorised the suit.
Both averred that the action being prosecuted in the court was not authorised by the party and that proponents in the case were “meddlesome interlopers’ with no capacity or authority to act on behalf of the party.
Opposing the application, the respondents filed a 15-paragraph counter-affidavit which argued that the application be dismissed because it failed to comply with Order 26 Rule 3 of the Federal High Court.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Nyako declared that the main consideration in a joinder application is if the applicant seeking to be joined is a necessary party in that the decision will affect them one way or the other.
She ruled: ” the plaintiffs/respondents have not placed anything that would convince the courts not to allow them into the case. I am of the opinion that they are necessary to the case to determine if the case was properly instituted or not.
Consequently, the application succeeds and the applicants are hereby joined as parties to this action as Defendants.”
In the matter, U.O.Kairo was counsel to the plaintiff.
Justice Ishola of Babatunde Ogala, SAN chambers stood for the All Progressives Congress, Thomas Ojo stood for Sen Bola Tinubu and Mr.C.I.Ibenegbu stood for Sen. Kashim Shettima.