ABOUT 5,000 delegates, gathered at the venue of the convention of opposition Action Congress of Nigeria party in Onikan Stadium in Lagos State on Thursday, agreed to ratify the merger of four major political parties under the new banner of the fledging All People Congress.
The parties that came together to form the new All Peoples Congress, with the acronym APC, include the Bola Tinubu-led Action Congress of Nigeria, the Muhammadu Buhari-led Congress for Progressive Change, the All Nigeria’s People Party and the All Peoples Grand Alliance.
The group of political parties also ratified the broom as the symbol of the party.
“Some alliances in the past only facilitated corruption; they were a rape to democracy,” said Lawal Shuaibu in his capacity as the chairman of the convention committee, adding that the time had come for the consummation of the meger process which had been in the works since February of 2012.
The All Peoples Congress at the convention agreed to expel certain party members who were seen as working against the interest of the new party.
Also approved alongside the new name and acronym were a new constitution, manifesto and flag, upon which the broom was emblazoned.
In his opening address, National Chairman of the ACN, Chief Bisi Akande said “this convention is a special one. The urgent need for change as the country desires to rescue our country compelled us to provide an alternative leadership for Nigeria.”
Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the party, urged Nigerians to be part of history, predicting ominously that a political storm is brewing in the country, although he didn’t say precisely how he came to this conclusion.
Leader of the Congress for Progressive Change, former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, said he and his fellow politicians will get it right this time, unlike the last time.
“Time was against us and all I can say is that the rest is history. This time around, we started early to build on the foundation we have laid in 2010,” he said, assuring his fellow politicians “that all those who are consistent, that are concerned with this system of solidifying democracy should know that the only solution is this merger.”
Chairman of the merger committee of the Action Congress of Nigeria, one of the parties that merged to form the All Peoples Congress, Tom Ikimi, said that it was time for “radical change.”
“At no time in our national life has radical change become more urgent. And to meet the challenge, we the following political parties namely ACN, ANPP, APGA and CPC have resolved to merge forthwith and become All Progressive Congress and offer to our beleaguered people a recipe for peace and prosperity,” chairman of the merger party, he said.
Before today, the All People’s Congress had been involved in brickbats with at least two other groups laying claim to the APC acronym, and each has pressured the Independent National Electoral Commission to approve its registration as a political party.
Last month, the Electoral Commission announced that it was rejecting the registration of the African Peoples Congress.
In a letter dated March 21, the commission hinged its rejection of the application by the group on the premise that its application violated Section 222 (A) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.