ACPN threatens court action against Ezekwesili


The Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) has asked its former presidential candidate Oby Ezekwesili to return all the monies generated during her short stay in the party, threatening to seek the order of mandamus if she refuses to comply.

Both the party and its former presidential candidate have engaged in the war of words following the latter’s withdrawal from the race and the party’s subsequent endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Ezekwesili, who is one the founders of #BringBackOurGirls#, had joined the ACPN last year and eventually emerged the party’s presidential ambition but later withdrew.

Responding to some allegations made by Ezekwesili against the national leadership of the ACPN in Abuja Thursday, the national chairman of the party, Alhaji Ganiyu Galadima, said the party “rejects in its entirety everything she has submitted.”

The party told the former minister of education that a political party is different from a charity organisation or the #BringBackOurGirls where she belongs to.

“We are rejecting everything she submitted in entirety. We want to know all the content of the accounts and see the accounts because at the end of the day it is not the presidential candidate that INEC will hold responsible according to the law but the party, and whatever any candidate generates for his or her campaign belongs to the party.

“We are expecting that she will respond at the appropriate time but if she doesn’t, we may be compelled to go to court to seek for order of Mandamus.”

Galadima said Ezekwesili does not have the capacity to contest a presidential election, adding that ordinary lapel that the presidential candidate wore on her chest and distributed to members was paid for by the national secretary of the party.

“For somebody who wants to contest for presidency, all you could generate for the period of three months was just N43 million and she spent everything by herself. She could not even disclose to the party the sources of the fund and how much she was able to generate.

“We wanted to know the full disclosure of all the accounts she opened because when you look at the statement she made available there are four different accounts which we didn’t know about.

“Look at the Omoyele Sowore, he publicly disclosed on a national Tv recently that his campaign has been able to generate about N99 million with the party. In addition, he has also told the world how the money could be traced. 

“So why is there no transparency in Madam Ezekwesili’s project? That is the bone of contention. 

“So, we are rejecting everything she submitted in its entirety, we wanted to know all the content of the accounts and see the accounts because at the end of the day it is not the presidential candidate that INEC will hold responsible according to the law but the party, and whatever any candidate generated for his or her campaign belong to the party.

“We are expecting that she will respond at the appropriate time but if she doesn’t, we may be compelled to go to court to seek for order of Mandamus.”

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