There was palpable apprehension in the political atmosphere last week occasioned by negative body language and rumours that oozed out of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over whether the merger party would be registered or not.
At a point, the gist was that the commission had already a prepared communication to the merging parties to inform them that the acronym, APC, was its Achilles' heel - that the party may not be registered on that score because another party that is by all legal logic not known to INEC is claiming ownership of the acronym in court. The leadership of the merger parties never wavered as they trudged on. But, at last, what seemed a very tortuous journey ended in a superlative victory for the resolute promoters of the All Progressives Congress (APC). INEC, in a terse no-holds-barred announcement, told the world that it had approved the application by three political parties - the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) - to merge into one, to be known as the All Progressives Congress (APC). Thus was born the largest opposition party in Nigeria in the present dispensation and with it set Nigeria on the same pedestal with nations that have two major political parties.
The Journey!
Going by the provision of the Electoral Act 2010, APC was born on July 10, 2013, when a formal request for merger of the ACN, ANPP and CPC, dated June 5, was received by INEC on June 10.
Section 84 (4) of the Act says: "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 30 days from the date of the receipt of the formal request - "PROVIDED that if the Commission fails to communicate its decision within 30 days, the merger shall be deemed to be effective."
INEC wrote back to the chairmen of the merging parties on June 12 forwarding 35 copies of the commission's Form PA 1 for completion and return along with 35 copies each of the APC's proposed constitution, manifesto and affidavit in support of claims in Form PA 1.
The APC submitted the requested documents on July 1. Although INEC had stated in its June 12 letter that it would commence the processing of the request after receiving the demanded documents, that is not what the Electoral Act quoted above specifies. The words are "... 30 days from the date of the receipt of the formal request", not 30 days from the date 35 copies of certain documents were submitted to INEC.
However, when an official of the APC stated that the party had been registered after July 9, INEC said it was still processing the application. On Friday, INEC's spokesman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, told this newspaper that what was "proper" (not what the law says) was to take the date of application "from the day they (APC) furnished the commission with the necessary documents".
The thinking was that if went well, the APC could still accept to wait until July 30 or 31 to get INEC's confirmation before calling itself a political party as prescribed by the Electoral Act.
All indeed did go well as the APC leaders waited for the day. They remained resolute and, of course, INEC 'did what was right'.
Initially, the snag in the whole process was the worrying suggestion that certain forces within and outside INEC seemed bent on manipulating the electoral umpire and the law to frustrate APC's registration. Right from the outset, these forces were very conspicuous, and the ruling party was fingered as the culprit. LEADERSHIP recalls that no sooner had the merging parties announced their new name than apparently sponsored groups started seeking the registration of other 'parties' with the acronym, APC.
One of the three or so nebulous 'parties' is currently in court to challenge the registration of another APC, but, as Idowu himself stated, there is no injunction restraining INEC from performing its duties regarding the merger.
Yet suspicion mounted over the last few days because of the known fact that some INEC commissioners, who were perceived as card-carrying members of the PDP, continued to pull the strings for the PDP from within INEC and, of course, they mounted pressures for the party not to be registered.
Today, the birth of APC gives credence to the several calls and admonitions that democracy cannot flourish in this country so long as elections are not free, fair and credible, and so long as we practise politics of winner-take-all. Moreover, only a strong opposition can ensure free polls and keep the ruling party on its toes.
Promoters of APC see it as a mass movement whose train cannot be stopped by the enemies of democracy. Delaying its registration or forcing it to change its name, they averred, will not be an impediment to the clamour for change in the country. Ultimately, it is the people - the electorate with whom sovereignty lies - that will determine the party to lead Nigeria from 2015.
Well, the party has come to stay and with it is the emergence of a new political dawn in the country. The Nigerian people have been presented with an alternative platform, however, it is a development that confers on the new party's stakeholders an added responsibility. How they manage it will either endear them to Nigerians or leave Nigerians looking for another messiah. Welcome on board, APC!
TIMELINE
June 5, 2013: The APC leaders submitted a formal request for the merger of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)
June 10, 2013: INEC received the request from the merging parties
June 12, 2013: INEC wrote the chairmen of merging parties, forwarding 35 copies of the commission's Form PA 1 for completion and asked the parties to return the documents with 35 copies each of APC's proposed constitution, manifesto and affidavit in support of claims in Form PA 1.
July 1, 2013: APC leaders submitted the requested documents to INEC
July 8, 2013: INEC inspected the proposed secretariat of APC in Zone 6, Abuja
July 31, 2013: INEC announced the approval of the application by three political parties; ACN, ANPP and CPC to merge into one, to be known as the All Progressives Congress.
The commission also approved the withdrawal of the individual certificates of the applicant-parties, and issuance of a single certificate to the APC.
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