APC under threat as court rules on acronym, Tinubu, governors differ

LAGOS — PROSPECTS of the country’s major opposition
party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, were shaking,
yesterday, ahead of a decisive ruling on the validity of
the party’s registration by the Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC. Besides, some party
members were also apprehensive on the direction of the
party following tension among party leaders on account
of recent disagreements.
Some party insiders were fearful that Asiwaju Bola
Ahmed Tinubu who had been a major rallying point for
the opposition party might be losing enthusiasm over
what sources claimed as the increasing opposition to
him by other major party stakeholders, mainly some
governors.
A ruling by a Federal High Court, Abuja, today, was
anxiously being expected on a suit instituted by the
unregistered African Peoples Congress, APC against the
registration of the All Progressives Congress by INEC.
A loss for INEC in the suit in which the All Progressives
Congress was refused to be joined in as a party, could
be catastrophic for the new political party and put it in
possible jeopardy ahead of crucial gubernatorial
elections in Ekiti and Osun states.
Tinubu, according to sources was not enthusiastic about
the meeting expected to deliberate on outstanding
issues flowing from recent congresses across the
country. Tinubu, it is alleged, is miffed over the recent
turn of events in the party which has seen him at the
short end on three sensitive issues to the club of
governors in the party.
Tinubu, according to party sources lost out on the
venue of the convention, the choice of a chairman of the
convention planning committee and on the zoning of the
office of national chairman in the next executive.
Following the development, there were fears that Tinubu
who had alongside General Muhammadu Buhari been the
rallying point in the merger could lose enthusiasm for
the new party. Party spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,
however, rebuffed insinuations of any tension in the
party over the alleged misunderstanding. Party elders
are, however, to meet within days to deliberate on
outstanding issues affecting the party notably the
unresolved congresses, zoning of national party offices
and permutations on the presidential candidate of the
party.
Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, a party elder also dismissed
claims of a crisis in the party, saying the party would
win the 2015 round of elections despite signs of internal
rifts. He said, “Positions are being more keenly
contested, people are seeing the future and I know that
the next government in the next election will be an APC
government at the federal level. We are now a serious
contender for power at the federal level.”
The suit on the ownership of the acronym, APC, was
entered before the high court by a rival political group,
the African Peoples Congress, which is insisting that it
has the patent right to the ‘APC’ acronym. The plaintiff
told the court that though it was the first political group
that applied to the electoral body to be registered as
‘APC’, it alleged that upon fulfilling all the condition
precedents, INEC, without any cogent reason, declined
to grant it the status of a political party in Nigeria.
Defunctpolitical parties
More so, the plaintiff told the court that it was surprised
that after INEC under the leadership of Professor Attahiru
Jega refused its application, it went ahead and
registered another group with the same ‘APC’ acronym
that was originally submitted to it by the plaintiff. It
further told the court that it had earlier instituted an
action that sought to prevent the Bisi Akande-led APC
which primarily consist of three defunct political parties,
the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, the Congress for
Political Change, CPC, and the All Nigeria Peoples Party,
ANPP, from laying claim to the acronym since it was
already in existence prior to the demise of their former
political parties.
The plaintiff further insisted that it was wrong for INEC
to have gone ahead to register the rival APC when a suit
restraining the party from using such acronym was still
pending in court.
Consequently, the plaintiff, in a motion on notice before
the court which is due for ruling today, applied for an
order to stop INEC from further recognizing or having
any dealings with the ‘APC’ pending the final
determination of their substantive suit.
The plaintiff specifically prayed for an order of the court
in the exercise of its disciplinary jurisdiction, annulling,
setting aside and voiding the action of INEC in
registering All Progressive Congress with the acronym
‘APC’, notwithstanding the pendency of the suit.
As well as, “an order of the court in the exercise of its
disciplinary jurisdiction, setting aside and voiding any
steps taken by INEC to facilitate the registration of the
said All progressive Congress APC after becoming aware
of the pendency of the suit, in contravention to the
doctrine of Lis pendens.”
The matter will come up before Justice Gabriel Kolawole
for ruling, following which the court will adjourn to
enable all parties adopt written addresses in preparation
to the final judgment on the issue.
Party spokesman Alhaji Lai Mohammed was, however,
calm yesterday and apparently unmoved by the pending
ruling.
It was feared yesterday that a ruling voiding INEC’s
registration of the Akande-led APC could cause
unmitigated disaster for the new party in the
forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun
States.
Speaking with Vanguard in a telephone interview
yesterday, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun assured that the
party would resolve all issues ahead of winning the
forthcoming elections.
He said “some of the congresses have not been resolved
but I think most have been resolved, this is natural.
Where there are difficulties, we will continue to try to
make peace though there are few states where there are
differences. Once a vast majority of the states conclude
their congresses, we will proceed to the convention.”
”When opposition parties were basically regional parties,
they did not have problems, now the APC is a national
force, it is a government in waiting. Given the mood of
the nation today, it has the possibility and probability of
becoming the government of the federation.”
The former governor of Edo State added that “positions
are being more keenly contested, people are seeing the
future and I know that the next government in the next
election will be an APC government at the federal level.
We are now a serious contender for power at the federal
level.
When asked if he is not disturbed about the controversy
trailing the possibility of the party throwing up a
Muslim-Muslim ticket, Oyegun said “you see, I do not
know who is playing it up in the party. I know that those
opposed to us are driving it in the media to distract the
feeble minded in the APC. It is an issue we have not
discussed. In fact, as at today, a Christian-Christian
ticket is also possible. The Muslim-Muslim ticket is not
an impossibility, but at the end of the day, the need to
win an election, is what will guide us, the need to
salvage the country is what will guide the party. So, all
this speculation in the party is neither here nor there.
The conclusion is that we shall cross that bridge when
we get there.”