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Demands probe of Jega and other INEC officials.
Trouble seems not to be over for the All Progressives Congress, APC, despite its celebrated registration as a political party by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as its rival, the Africa Peoples Congress, rejected the recognition and called for the investigation of the Commission’s officials for allegedly compromising their positions.
APC, a merger of the some opposition political parties, namely Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN; Congress for Progressive Change, CPC; All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP; and sections of the Democratic Peoples Party, DPP and All Progressives Grand Alliance was registered as a political party on Wednesday by INEC.
However, addressing a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, the National Chairman of the African Peoples Congress, Onyinye Ikeagwuonu, said it was still in court challenging INEC’s rejection of its application to be registered as a political party some months ago, insisting that the APC acronym was not available for the new party.
The association argued that though INEC rejected its application, the process of party registration does not end with the electoral body since the Electoral Act provides that any association whose application is turned down can proceed to the court.
“We invite the press to note that by the provision of the Electoral Act, the last phase in the registration process of a political party resides with the court in the event that INEC denies an applicant’s registration,” Mr. Ikeagwonu said.
Section 79 of the Electoral Act states that “…the decision of INEC not to register any association as a political party may be challenged in a court of law provided that the legal action challenging the decision of INEC shall be commenced within 30 days from the date of receipt of the letter of notification of non-registration from INEC.”
“The implication of the above provision is that the power to register a political party does not end with INEC once a judicial review is being sought,” he said.
“We have complied with the above provision and started our judicial review to upturn INEC’s decision not to register our association and INEC has fully joined in the suit and exchanged all the necessary court processes.
“INEC has power to register any association as a political party but lacks the power to register any group bearing the same name or acronym with our APC.
“As long as our case is in court, the acronym APC is not yet available as the process of registration which ends with a judicial review is still ongoing,” he added.
The association said INEC acknowledged that it was the first to apply with the acronym and that the electoral body was in court to defend its actions.
The chairman said the decision of INEC to reject his association’s application for registration was baseless “in view of the fact that we complied with the provisions of the law and provided them with the address of our national officers.”
He added, “One then wonders on what ground the Jega-led INEC decided to register a group whose acronym is same as ours.
“What will happen to INEC and the merger parties when the Court gives judgment in our favour and reinstates our right over the APC acronym?
“The many hurdles and conspiracies being thrown at us, we have surmounted in the past and will continue to surmount.”
“The court has remained firm on the rule of law and has continued to reject all frivolous applications deliberately filed to derail our case which include the sponsored joinder applied by the Tinubu faction of the Alliance for Democracy (AD).
“As pathetic as it seems, also the Femi Falana suit fronting a strange APC which the court will soon rule on tells the story of desperation-unlimited by the Merger party,” he said.
Mr. Ikeagwonu alleged that with the registration of APC, INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega and his officials had aligned with the new party to plunge the country’s democratic process into chaos.
According to him, “actions of the Commission that led to this ridiculous registration of the All Progressive Congress, had always been put in public space by the African People’s Congress and another look at them convey an outrageous aversion to the tenets of the rule of law by the wheeler-dealer leadership of the Commission.”
“In the absence of reason or rationale to justify this action of the leadership of INEC, we are yet again compelled to restate our conviction that Professor Attahiru Jega is playing an ethnic card with consideration to his close relationship with General Mohammadu Buhari and benevolent linkages to Bourdillon Street Lagos. And there can only be one end to this lawless scenario, which is political anarchy!”
The national chairman said Mr. Jega was well-versed in the electoral law to know that a matter pending in court should be left alone until decided by the court, insisting that the INEC boss should not comply by the tenets of court and rule of law only when it is convenient.
He alleged that prior to the registration of APC, there were underhand deals between the party officials and those of INEC, adding that the latter suddenly emerged billionaires, having compromised their positions.
He asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commissions, ICPC, to probe the Commission’s officials.
“We have heard how billionaires have suddenly emerged in the last few days in the many back hand deals that was unleashed to get the merger APC illegally registered.
“Many INEC top shots have compromised the rule of law. The bazaar that was done with Lagos tax -payers fund in INEC in the last few days has dented the image and capacity of INEC to lead Nigeria to a transparent election.
“We urge the EFCC and ICPC to immediately investigate top INEC directors and Commissioners to unearth the financial scam which led to this heinous assault on the rule of law.
“And we wish to state that Jega and his leadership should be held responsible and probed, if their irresponsibility torpedoes the 2015 general election in Nigeria.
“For all we know, with this level of connivance and compromise by the nation’s electoral umpire, the Commission has deliberately catalysed a speedy descent into anarchy and volatile instability,” he added.
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