Signs that the merging All Progressive Congress (APC), is coming unhinged has emerged with a group, ANPP Stakeholders Forum threatening to go to court if the leadership of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) fails to suspend their involvement in the merger after three weeks.
The forum’s request for the party to pull the plug on the merger followed an allegation that the leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) under Former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu is planning to short-change other merging political parties in the merger arrangement.
The forum stated this in a letter to the national chairman of the ANPP with the title MERGER/APC CRISIS: HOW WE HAVE BEEN FOOLED& DECEIVED BY BOLA TINUBU/A.C.N PARTY (THE SECRET TINUBU IS HIDING FROM US (MERGING PARTNERS).
The chairman of the forum, Malam Isah Bala revealed that that on the January 26, 2006, Tinubu registered a political party Action People’s Congress (APC) with its address at plot 779 Ona crescent-off Lake Chad crescent Maitama Abuja, under Prof. Maurice Iwu’s led INEC.
They further added that on August 21, 2006 they applied for a change of name to Action Congress (AC) which was granted to them and they later changed to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). We also discovered that the chairman of the merger committee, Chief Tom Ikimi had then been conscripted by Tinubu in 2006 into the APC project. One begins to wonder.
Bala, who is also chairman Usuma Ward in Bwari Area Council, in Abuja, said “It is with great sense of disappointment that we came to the unraveling of the grand deceit and political avarice behind the merger agenda of All Progressive Congress (APC) comprising the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and a fraction of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).”
“We the members of ANPP Concerned Stakeholders therefore call upon our national leadership to henceforth suspend involvement in the merger process until this and other questions are answered. It has become obvious that the merger partners are not treated as equal entities in the merger project, rather it is being dominated by Bola Tinubu’s led ACN. The interest of our great party is evidently, not adequately protected in the present merging arrangement. Therefore, our party cannot surrender its identity that all our founding fathers have labored for, to satisfy the interest of an individual.
“Consequently, we give our national leadership 3 weeks ultimatum to suspend their involvement in the merger if this anomaly is not corrected.
We also urge our national leadership to start discussing the possibility of forming alliance with Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and other political parties on basis of mutual respect and equality for one another in the forth coming general election in 2015.
“On this note we encourage the CPC led by General Buhari to also review their stand and stake in the merger arrangement, as it is a hoax that can yield no political or democratic dividend. As earlier advocated an alliance with CPC and other political parties; where General Buhari, a time-tested leader is presented as a presidential candidate will garner an overwhelming acceptance from Nigerians.
“A well thought out alliance will help us capture power at the federal level and still retain our individual identity. Political history has shown us that our foremost political leaders explored the gains of alliance in enthroning good governance and political harmony in the country.
“Finally we declare that we will not fail to use every lawful means to stop this uneven merger, our party is about entering into, if the ongoing act of insincerity by the “merger imperialists” is not halted.”
The ANPP, through its spokesman, Emma Enuekwu has described the letter as the handiwork of persons bent on truncating the merger. He said they have been bought over to cause confusion in the merger process assuring that all members of the party are behind the merger.
A copy of the letter reads.
The National Chairman
All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP)
ANPP National Headquarters, Central Area Abuja-Nigeria.
ATTN: CPC AND ACN PARTY LEADERSHIP
MERGER CENTRAL CORDINATING COMMITTEE FOR (ANPP, CPC& ACN)
Dear Sir,
MERGER/APC CRISIS: HOW WE HAVE BEEN FOOLED& DECEIVED BY BOLA TINUBU/A.C.N PARTY (THE SECRET TINUBU IS HIDING FROM US (MERGING PARTNERS) Is this a merger or an expansion of Tinubu’sACN political base?
It is with great sense of disappointment that we came to the unraveling of the grand deceit and political avarice behind the merger agenda of All Progressive Congress (APC) comprising the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP), Congress for Progressive Change
(CPC) and a fraction of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
The announcement of the merger by these political parties was generally welcomed by the political class as it will provide alternative political platform for well meaning Nigerians who are always schemed out, out-witted, rigged out and denied the opportunity to contribute their quota at the federal level of government by the manipulative antics of the PDP and the collaborative efforts of the electoral bodies.
The merger could have also provided a strong two party system in Nigeria which will produce a virile opposition as it is obtained in advanced democracies of the world. The gains of the merger cannot be over-emphasized as the generality of Nigerians had anxiously waited for its realization.
However, to our utter bewilderment, we have discovered the unholy, inordinate, ulterior motive of a few insatiable political gluttons, who are largely obsessed with the self-driven interest of expanding their political empire to the detriment of the greater majority of Nigerians.
These messianic impostors, who at every given opportunity claim to have solutions to Nigeria’s woes, are nothing but pretenders who had failed Nigerians and their states when they were at the helm of affairs. They lay claims to the achievements of their successors instead of their tenures in office. This nefarious clique is led by Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu of the ACN, who apparently, has put necessary machinery in place to short-change other merging political parties in the merger process.
We the members of the ANPP Concerned Stakeholders have discovered that APC is a sole pet project of Ahmed Bola Tinubu. On the 26th day of January 2006, Tinubu registered a political party Action People’s Congress (APC) with its address at plot 779 Ona crescent-off Lake Chad crescent Maitama Abuja, under Prof. Maurice Iwu’s led INEC. On 21st of August 2006 they applied for a change of name to Action Congress (AC) which was granted to them and they later changed to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). We also discovered that the chairman of the merger committee, Chief Tom Ikimi had then been conscripted by Tinubu in 2006 into the APC project. One begins to wonder:
-Why did Tinubu and his Cohorts foist the former/old name and acronym of the ACN on the merging partners without duly informing us that it was the ACN original name?
-Why did Tinubu and his clique, after foisting on us the ACN former acronym (APC), still went ahead to chose the logo of the same ACN as our merging identity?
-Why is it that after all the controversies surrounding the acronym APC, it has remained a difficult task for Tinubu to let go his ambition to have his imprint written all over the merger process and allow us review our merging name, acronym and identity and start on a fresh note?
-Why does Tinubu want to sacrifice the efforts of the merging parties on the altar of narrow-minded egotism just to emerge as the face of the Merger process?
-Why didn’t Tom Ikimi’s led committee bother to go through the Constitution and Electoral Act to understand and follow the basic requirements of a merger and save us this present confusion?
-Why the hasty announcement of the name and acronym APC?
-Must the APC bear the same ACN logo of the broom and ACN party colours?
-Why is Tom Ikimi the chairman of the merger committee and Lai Mohammed already speaking as the National Publicity Secretary designate of the would-be new party?
The answers to theses questions are not farfetched, Chief Ikimi is solely there to carry out the mandate handed down to him by his immediate boss, Tinubu, to whom he solely reports. This imperialistic cabal led by Tinubu is not just interested in imposing their name, acronym, logo, symbol, constitution and others on us but has shared every contemplated political positions amongst their family members, allies, friends and cronies, little wonder, less than 48hours after the announcement of the merger, Tinubu’s wife who is a serving senator was quoted as saying that “she is the next senate president in waiting”. It is also crystal clear to us now why Chief Tom Ikimi has been laying claim that APC is their intellectual property.
The risk of going ahead with this insincerity is so high and the only way-out for us and other merging parties to quickly review the entire process and reaffirm our terms of engagement to avoid building a house on quick sand.
However, the rejection of the registration of one of the sponsored APC (AFRICAN PEOPLES CONGRESS) is not a victory for us to blindly proceed with the process.
That INEC action has officially confirmed that the group applied officially before us which means that their threat to challenge INEC decision in court will be a landmine which our party and the merging partners should not walk into. It will be a political suicide and self-laid trap, as the outcome of the litigation cannot be predicted.
The denial of registration of a party by INEC is just the first stage in the process of registration going by the provision of Section 79 of the Electoral Act which gives the party so denied registration, 30 days grace to seek judicial review of the INEC action.
So what if few days to the general election, the court rules that the rival APC is the legitimate claimant to the acronym and should be on the ballot? What shall be our fate, our hard work and our political escape route? We want our party the ANPP to ask Tinubu this question face to face.
We the members of ANPP Concerned Stakeholders therefore call upon our national leadership to henceforth suspend involvement in the merger process until this and other questions are answered. It has become obvious that the merger partners are not treated as equal entities in the merger project, rather it is being dominated by Bola Tinubu’s led ACN. The interest of our great party is evidently, not adequately protected in the present merging arrangement. Therefore, our party cannot surrender its identity that all our founding fathers have labored for, to satisfy the interest of an individual. Consequently, we give our national leadership 3 weeks ultimatum to suspend their involvement in the merger if this anomaly is not corrected.
We also urge our national leadership to start discussing the possibility of forming alliance with Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and other political parties on basis of mutual respect and equality for one another in the forth coming general election in 2015. On this note we encourage the CPC led by General Buhari to also review their stand and stake in the merger arrangement, as it is a hoax that can yield no political or democratic dividend. As earlier advocated an alliance with CPC and other political parties; where General Buhari, a time-tested leader is presented as a presidential candidate will garner an overwhelming acceptance from Nigerians.
A well thought out alliance will help us capture power at the federal level and still retain our individual identity. Political history has shown us that our foremost political leaders explored the gains of alliance in enthroning good governance and political harmony in the country. Finally we declare that we will not fail to use every lawful means to stop this uneven merger, our party is about entering into, if the ongoing act of insincerity by the “merger imperialists” is not halted.
WE WANT AN HONEST MERGING ARRANGEMENT AND NOT ONE DESIGNED AND BUILT TO SUIT ONE MAN’S POLITICAL EXPANSIONIST AGENDA.
Thank you all.
Long live the All Nigerians Peoples Party (ANPP) Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
SIGNED
MALLAM ISAH BALA
ANPP WARD CHAIRMAN, USUMA WARD, BWARI AREA COUNCIL, FCT ABUJA AND NATIONAL CONVENER ANPP STAKEHOLDERS FORUM.
ANPP MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION CARD NUMBER (13714)