ACF, Tinubu, others hail APC registration – just for registering a party, na work?

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday approved the registration of the All Progressives Congress, thereby putting an end to the series of  political horse-trading over the ownership of  the acronym, APC.

 A terse statement issued in Abuja by Mr. Kayode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said with the approval,  the  Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party and the Congress for Progressive Change which formed the APC,  had  satisfied the requirements for registration.

INEC  also approved the withdrawal of the individual certificates of the   three parties   and   issued   a single certificate to APC.

The statement reads: “The Independent National Electoral Commission   has approved the application by three political parties – the  ACN, the  ANPP  and the   CPC  – to merge into one, to be known as the All Progressives Congress.“On considering the application, the commission found that the applicant-parties have met all statutory requirements for the merger, and has accordingly granted their request. “Consequently, the commission has approved the withdrawal of the individual certificates of the applicant-parties, and the issuance of a single certificate to the APC.”

The registration drew immediate reactions  from the APC, the Peoples Democratic Party, Arewa Consultative Forum,  a former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, and  the presidential candidate of the former ACN in the 2011 presidential election,Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

While the APC described  the development as victory for Nigerians, the PDP said it would not lose sleep over it.

The statement reads, “The journey has been long and tortuous. All sorts of obstacles were thrown onto  our path by anti-democratic forces, but we were painstaking, determined and unrelenting in our quest for a formidable platform that will allow our country, Nigeria, to achieve her full potential and join the league of respectable nations.“With the approval of our merger by  the INEC and the emergence of the  APC, today (Wednesday) marks the beginning of a new dawn for our country and her long-suffering people. We thank Nigerians both here and in the Diaspora for standing by us. “We thank the media for their fairness and we commend  the INEC for doing the right thing and for not succumbing to pressure from phantom political associations that sought to force it to circumvent the law. “We promise not to disappoint Nigerians who have reposed much confidence in us. We say that contrary to the lies being peddled by the naysayers, we are not seeking political power for the sake of getting it, but in order to use it to empower our people and allow their long-nursed hopes and dreams to become a reality.“And to those who have vowed to change their names if APC survives for a year, we hope they will live up to their words.’’

Culled from punchng

This country, just to do a simple thing becomes a thing of celebration. To register a party is what all this is all about? It simple suggest to me that, PDP do have power and APC or whatever their name is should take notice. This is perhaps the simplest hurdle and see how long and difficult it took them to cross it. Niaja.