APC is real among nigeria party

APC is Registered,

APC Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed

•PDP congratulates new party, says it’s no threat  
•CPC, CNPP, Tinubu hail registration
By Chuks Okocha, Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Christopher Isiguzo

Nigeria Wednesday made a major move towards a dominant two-party system with the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the withdrawal of the certificates of registration of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

In furtherance of the new party’s registration, APC has announced that it would unveil a plan to mobilise more membership across the country.

The party, which was in a celebratory mood Wednesday following its registration, in a veiled reference to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said it would give all Nigerians, especially those who have become disenchanted with the progress of the country, the much-awaited opportunity to become part of the country’s democratic process in the true sense of the word.

However, the PDP was magnanimous in its reaction to APC’s registration and congratulated the new party, but maintained that the coalition of the former opposition parties would not pose a threat to its hegemony.

In a statement signed by the secretary of the commission, Alhaji Abduallhi Kaugama, INEC said: “On considering the application, the commission found that the applicant-parties have met all statutory requirements for the merger, and has accordingly granted their request.”

The conditions met by the three merging political parties as stated in Section 84 of the Electoral Act include the following: “Any two or more registered political parties may merge on approval by the commission following a formal request presented to the commission by the political parties for that purpose.

“(*) Political parties intending to merge shall each give to the commission 90 days notice of their intention to do so before a general election.

“(*) The written request for merger shall be sent to the chairman of the commission and shall be signed jointly by the national chairman, secretary and treasurer for the time being of the different political parties proposing the merger and shall be accompanied by: (a) A special resolution passed by the national convention of each of the political parties proposing to merge, approving the merger; (b) The proposed full name and acronym, constitution, manifesto, symbol or logo of the party, together with the addresses of the national office of the party resulting from the merger; and (c) Evidence of payment of administrative costs of N100,000 or as may be fixed from time to time by an Act of the National Assembly.

“(*) On receipt of the request for merger of political parties the commission shall consider the request; and if the parties have fulfilled the requirements of the constitution and this Act, approve the proposed merger and communicate its decision to the parties concerned before the expiration of thirty (30) days from the date of the receipt of the formal request.

“(*) Where the request for the proposed merger is approved, the commission shall forthwith withdraw and cancel the certificates of registration of all the political parties opting for the merger and substitute therefore, a single certificate of registration in the name of the party resulting from the merger.

“(*) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section no merger of political parties received by the commission less than 90 days before any general election in the country shall be considered by the commission.”

Accordingly, INEC said in the three-paragraph statement, “Consequently, the commission has approved the withdrawal of the individual certificates of the applicant-parties, and the issuance of a single certificate to the All Progressives Congress.”

The approval of APC as a political party coincided with the 30-day deadline as the commission had written to acknowledge the receipt of APC’s letter seeking registration on July 1, 2013. July 31 was therefore the 30-day deadline as stipulated in the Electoral Act.

However, INEC’s approval of APC as a political party was nearly marred by controversy over a similar abbreviation, as a group under the aegis of African Peoples Congress (APC) had laid claims to the abbreviation. It even went to a Federal High Court to challenge the ownership of the APC abbreviation.

Reacting to the registration of the APC, the interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Wednesday that with the birth of the new party, Nigerians now have an alternative to a ruling party which has taken the people for a bad ride in the past 14 years.

“We will also be unveiling our plans to turn today's hopelessness into a time of great opportunities, to reverse the downward slide in our socio-economic development, and to ensure that every Nigerian benefits from the commonwealth, instead of the present situation in which a few fat cats are milking the system dry at the expense of the citizenry,” APC said.

APC said its emergence was a victory for Nigeria and for democracy, adding that it has also propelled the country into the league of top democratic nations with two major political parties.

“The journey has been long and tortuous. All sorts of obstacles were thrown into our path by anti-democratic forces, but we were painstaking, determined and unrelenting in our quest for a formidable platform that will allow our country, Nigeria, to achieve her full potential and join the league of respectable nations.

“With the approval of our merger by INEC and the emergence of APC, today marks the beginning of a new dawn for our country and her long-suffering people. We thank Nigerians both here and in the Diaspora for standing by us.

“We thank the media for their fairness, and we commend INEC for doing the right thing and for not succumbing to pressure from phantom political associations that sought to force it to circumvent the law.

“We promise not to disappoint Nigerians who have reposed much confidence in us. We say that contrary to the lies being peddled by the naysayers, we are not seeking political power for the sake of getting it, but in order to use it to empower our people and allow their long-nursed hopes and dreams to become a reality.

“And to those who have vowed to change their names if APC survives for a year, we hope they will live up to their words,” it said.

APC said Nigerians could now look forward to a truly democratic party in the best tradition of what the world considers as the best form of government.

In the meantime, with the registration of APC, the party’s interim National Secretary, Alhaji Tijani Tumsah, has announced that the defunct ACN, ANPP and CPC will be expected to collapse their structures and return the old certificates of registration to INEC.

Tumsah, who spoke to THISDAY from far away Saudi Araba in reaction to the party's registration, hailed INEC for sticking to due diligence in the registration of the party.

Although the APC scribe could not give details on when the parties plan to windup their individual platforms, he said he would write a letter to the parties on the timeline for submission of party certificates after getting clearance from INEC.

Tumsah said: “The registration was in order and I must also thank INEC for taking the time to do due diligence to get our registration done.”

Also speaking on the triumph by the merging parties, the National Publicity Secretary of CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said the next task before the parties will be to take inventories of their assets and liabilities for onward fusion into the APC.

Fashakin, who spoke to THISDAY on the phone, said the opposition parties merging under APC would henceforth forge a common front in campaigning for victory at future elections, beginning with the governorship election coming up in Anambra State.

He said Nigerians now have a real alternative party that can adequately address the shortcomings in the governance of the country.

On its part, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) said the registration of APC has signalled the death of any move to foist a one party state on Nigeria.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, CNPP said the emergence of APC has taken “our democracy to the next level.”

“Nigerians now have a golden opportunity to make choice between two dominant political parties: one anchored on social democracy and is pro-people; and one anchored on conservative and anti-people programmes as is the case in all liberal democracies.

“We congratulate INEC for its forthrightness, steadfastness and obedience to the rule of law. It is heart warming that INEC captured the intendment of the constitution not to register phony groups or mischief makers as political parties,” it said.

On its part, the ruling PDP congratulated the leadership of APC for the successful registration of their new party, describing it as a healthy development for the nation’s democracy.

PDP, in a statement signed by its acting National Publicity Secretary, Tony Caesar Okeke, however said the registration of the new party posed no threat to the PDP.

The statement said the ruling party still maintains its pre-eminent position and enjoys the widest popularity and acceptance among Nigerians across the country.

The PDP said with the registration of the APC, Nigerians now expect the leaders of the opposition party to eschew all forms of bitterness and desperation and desist from politics of propaganda which characterised their former parties.

The PDP urged the APC leaders to focus on issues and engage in more robust debates on the economy and other issues of governance in the general interest of the country.

“The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) congratulates the leadership of the All Progressives Congress on the successful registration of their new party. This is very healthy for our democracy. “We hope that from now the opposition will eschew all forms of bitterness and desperation and desist from politics of propaganda which characterised their former parties.

“We hope to see a vibrant opposition that will constructively engage the PDP on issues of governance in a way that Nigerians will be the utmost beneficiaries instead of overheating the polity by promoting violence and hatred among the people,” the PDP said.

Insisting that the APC posed no threat to it, the PDP said it “will continue to maintain its preeminent position in the polity,” adding that it remained the party with the widest acceptance and popularity among Nigerians across board.
Unable to resist taking a dig at the new party, the PDP noted that Nigerians are not deceived by the change of flag by the opposition.

“It does not remove their dictatorial tendencies and penchant for deceit and propaganda for which Nigerians have rejected them irrespective of party name,” PDP said.

In his reaction, former governor of Lagos State and chieftain on APC, Senator Bola Tinubu, said history had been made with the registration of the new party.

In a statement from his media office, Tinubu said: “Once again, history is made in our country and before our very eyes. The confirmation of the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by INEC signals the commencement of a new phase in the struggle to bring true democratic change to Nigeria. 

“This is not just a merger. This is the first ever merger in the history of Nigeria and represents a paradigm shift in the politics of our country. Together we must own it. As Nigerians we see history unfold before our very eyes and we must rise up to answer the call of history to liberate our people.

“I congratulate all our governors, all our members from the North-east, North-west, South-south, South-east, South-west and the North-central, and all would be members and well wishers of our great party, APC.

“Let me single out for congratulations the leadership of the merging parties, particularly the executives and the entire membership of APC for their perseverance, doggedness and the sacrifices they made in the interest of our country.

“They resolutely stood behind the merger and had trust in the leadership and the process. Their faith in the message of change that APC represents has been aptly demonstrated. It is to them that the greatest credit goes to.

“Because we fulfilled the laws for registration as prescribed, we all along were confident that our party will be registered. We worked hard to ensure that our party was in good stead and in good standing with the law.

“Selfish interest and ego were shelved. Personal sacrifices were made particularly by those who hitherto occupied higher positions in the merging parties in the interest of moving Nigeria forward.

“I congratulate millions of Nigerians who stood by us during the long process to form the APC party and actualise its objective. This registration is a culmination of concerted and diverse efforts and commitment by our people to work for a new Nigeria. With APC, a new Nigeria is necessary and is possible.”

Tinubu also congratulated INEC and its leadership headed by Prof. Attahiru Jega for the positive pronouncement.

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