The Africa Peoples Congress (APC) on Tuesday hailed a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja which granted their suit to cause a judicial review of the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), over their rejected bid APC’s to become a political party.
The political group added that the ruling has paved way for a full blown legal battle over the APC name and acronym.
Earlier same Tuesday, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja endorsed the application of the African People’s Congress (APC) to proceed with hearing on its suit seeking judicial review of the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which rejected APC’s application for registration as a political party.
Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, ruled on the application of APC, granting leave for the Court to hear and adjudicate on the action filed by APC in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/224/2013.
The African Peoples Congress has been locked in a tussle with the merging All Progressive Congress (APC) over which political platform has a right to the acronym APC as they seek registration before INEC.
However, while, the merging APC insisted that the acronym remains their intellectual property, INEC declined to register the other APC, who first filed their registration bid, on the ground that its registration application did not contain the address of its national officers, prompting the group to head to court.
But according to a release by the political group, signed by the acting National Secretary, Barr. Sa’id Balogun, the ruling was vital to their emergence as political party under the acronym APC.
He said “while moving to upturn the decision of INEC against the APC registration, this ruling also paves way for a full blown legal battle over the APC name and acronym, as the African People’s Congress had also asked the court to restrain INEC from entertaining any application by any group or person seeking registration of any political party bearing the name or acronym of the African People’s Congress (APC), until the subsisting suit is determined by the court.
“The leadership of the APC however views today’s ruling as commendable and a vital achievement in the process of restoring the bid of the African People’s Congress
(APC) to be registered as a political party.
“The court action instituted by the APC is on the strength of the provisions of Section 79 of the Electoral Act which empowers any association denied registration as a political party by INEC to seek judicial review within 30 days of being notified by INEC.”