Purported Existence of “APC” in INEC Records: INEC has truly merged with the PDP – ACN

apcnewlogoThe Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of telling blatant lies and manipulation of facts by claiming that a certain African Peoples Congress (another APC) has applied to the commission for registration.

These accusations came in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by the ACN’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. In the statement, the party said that the INEC claim, as articulated by Mr Kayode Idowu, the spokesman for INEC chairman, was not supported by the relevant sections of the Electoral Act regulating the registration of a political party.

It further stated that the truth of the matter was that no party with the acronym APC had applied to INEC to be registered, adding that even the phantom African Peoples Congress – which is being sponsored by the PDP to lay claim to the acronym – had only written a letter of intent, which had not even been discussed by INEC, not to talk of the commission taking any decision on it.

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ACN’s statement reads in part: “The statement credited to Mr Idowu is therefore reckless and provocative and clearly betrays INEC as truly having merged with the PDP to frustrate the merger of the progressives under the banner of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC). One wonders who the spokesman is speaking for and what interest he represents. He should therefore be called to order before he sets the country ablaze.”

ACN further said that, in order to debunk INEC’s claim that the phantom African Peoples Congress had applied for registration, it was calling the attention of all the good people of Nigeria to the sections of the Electoral Act that are relevant to party registration: Part V Political Parties of the Electoral Act, Section 78 (1) says:

Section 78 (2) says: “The commission shall on receipt of the documents in fulfilment of the conditions stipulated by the constitution immediately issue the applicant with a letter of acknowledgement stating that all necessary documents have been submitted to the commission.”

The party then continues: “In this case the applicants on behalf of the phantom African Peoples Congress, the clients of Legal World Chambers, have not submitted any of the documents stipulated by the constitution to the commission. They have only written a letter of intent and therefore INEC could not have issued them any letter of acknowledgment, not to talk of starting the process of verifying the documents.”

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