Action Alliance crisis festers as party committee suspends national chairman

Crisis rocking the Action Alliance (AA) took a new dimension on Thursday as the National Chairman of the party, Tunde Kelani-Anifowose, was declared suspended at a meeting of its National Think-Tank Committee (NTTC), held in Abuja.

However, while reacting to his suspension in a telephone conversation with WITNESS NIGERIA on Saturday, the embattled chairman described the meeting in which he was suspended as illegal, saying its convocation and composition were alien to the party’s constitution.

Anifowose-Kelani’s suspension, according to a release made available to journalists after the meeting, was based on ‘actions unbecoming of the office he holds’ contrary to Article 38 and 15 (5a) of the party.

The body has since referred his case to the party’s disciplinary committee for investigation.

Also under the axe of the committee was the national leader of the party and former commissioner for information and orientation in Oyo state, Taiwo Otegbeye, who was also alleged to have committed gross misconduct against the party.

At the meeting, where a special convention committee under Olu Omotoso, the party's South-West Zonal Secretary was set up, it was also resolved that the interim executive councils in four of the states of the federation, Oyo, Ondo, Kaduna and Anambra be dissolved for lack of proper composition.

The meeting, according to a statement signed by Anaukyaa Mnenge Peter and Chukwuemeka Okoli both the National Legal Adviser and National Publicity Secretary respectively "was convened in compliance with the party's constitution, Article 15, Section 'E', paragraph 31, 32 and 33 of the INEC guidelines and regulations for political parties, 2013".

Presided over by the National Vice-Chairman (South-West)  M.A. Adenekan, the meeting mandated the Deputy National Chairman, Abubakar Mohammed "to be statutorily performing all the functions of the Chairman as required until the investigations of the complaints and allegations of gross misconduct against him are completed".

Meanwhile, Anifowose-Kelani has described the action of the committee as illegal and laughable.

He said the two people who signed the release had been expelled by the party at its congress of Feb. 22, adding that they were disgruntled by the action and were trying to hit back at the party.

"I am still the chairman of the party. That purported meeting was illegal. By the provision of our constitution, the party national chairman is the secretary of the Think Tank Committee, while the National leader is the chairman.

"If any meeting of that committee should be called, it has to be called by the secretary, at the instance of the chairman.

"I have not called a meeting, and I am aware that the national leader, Taiwo Otegbeye, who is also based in Ibadan, never did.

"Besides, that place where the said meeting was held is not our secretariat. All the decision taken at that meeting are illegal and was done by people who are no more our members.

"I'm still the national chairman. I have four-year tenure which started only last year when I was elected on April 13, 2013.

"I thank you for taking the pain to make clarifications on this issue.

"As a party, we have written to the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abuja office and the police about the expulsion of these fellows from our fold. We have also advised journalists not to cover their illegal activities in the name of the party," he said.