20 Political Parties To Boycott Jonathan’s Summit On Governorship And General Elections

About 20 parties under the aegis of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) said they would not participate in the summit of political parties summoned by the Office of the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Inter-Party Affairs.

ipac_president
Chairman, Inter-Parties Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC), Dr. Yunusa Tanko (L) making a speech after receiving his award plaque from Dr. Nnekka Nwobbi, Trustee, Children Living with Cancer Foundation (CLWCF). Credit: Newsatembassymediagroup

The summit is designed to discuss the preparations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other stakeholders for the Ekiti and Osun states governorship polls and the 2015 general elections. It is scheduled for June 12.

After an emergency meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, May 28, the IPAC National Chairman​​​​​ Yunusa Tanko and Publicity Secretary Chief Sam Eke have issued a communique in which they expressed shock over the sudden invitation for the summit as no one had consulted the IPAC members about the issue.

The IPAC informed all its members that the earlier planned All Nigerian Political Parties summit shall hold on June 9, 2014 not June 12, 2014 as “speculated by Special Adviser to the President on Inter-Party Affairs”.

“IPAC disassociates itself from the political summit planned solely by the Special Adviser to the President on Inter- Party Affairs. We can no longer accept to be passengers in our own political process but shall remain the major drivers we are in all political process,” the communique reads in part.

The IPAC also said they were “still injured by their deliberate exclusion” form the ongoing National Conference, which, they said, was “tantamount to deregistering of political parties”.