Supreme Court Affirms Udeze as Authentic AA National Chairman

The Supreme Court has resolved the long-standing leadership dispute within the Action Alliance (AA) by affirming Chief Kenneth Udeze as the legitimate national chairman of the party.

On Tuesday, the apex court dismissed an appeal that had challenged the leadership of Udeze’s National Working Committee (NWC). Justice Lawal Garba, who presided over the case, dismissed the appeal for lack of diligent prosecution.

The appellant, Hon. Fredrick Ighiwiyisi, had contested the Court of Appeal’s judgment which upheld Chief Udeze’s leadership. He had filed the appeal against Udeze’s leadership, with Osaro Uwaifo, the AA, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) named as respondents in the case. However, the appellant abandoned the appeal.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court explained that a motion filed on October 10, 2024, to dismiss or strike out the appeal due to lack of prosecution was served on the appellant on October 23, 2024. Since then, there was no evidence that Ighiwiyisi had taken any steps to pursue the appeal, leading to its dismissal for lack of prosecution.

Following the dismissal, Chief Udeze declared that the decision had effectively ended the leadership crisis within the party. He added that the party’s attention would now be focused on the 2027 general elections, as there was nothing preventing the party from securing victories in the upcoming polls.

The dispute began during the buildup to the 2024 Edo State governorship election when Hon. Ighiwiyisi challenged the legitimacy of the primary election that nominated Chief Osaro Uwaifo as the party’s candidate. Ighiwiyisi argued that the national executive committee led by Udeze, which conducted the primary, was not the authentic leadership of the party.

However, the suit was dismissed by the court, which ruled that the AA national executives under Chief Udeze were the rightful leadership of the party, and that the primary election was valid. Ighiwiyisi appealed to the Court of Appeal, which unanimously dismissed his case, affirming Udeze’s leadership and his authority to conduct the party’s primaries.

Undeterred, Ighiwiyisi took the matter to the Supreme Court, but his appeal was also dismissed, bringing a final resolution to the party’s leadership crisis.