The journey started more thanthree years ago. Following the2007 presidential election, which the former President, the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, acknowledged as flawed, opposition parties returned to the drawing board. Many peoplebelieved that without a formidable alliance orcollaboration, their chance of defeating the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was slim.But the opposition figures ignored the strength in unity to their peril. Thus, to observers, they failed to learn from the lessons of history. The lessons of past botched alliances were confounding. Collaborations, alliances and mergers collapsed in earlier dispensations becausepoliticians differed on the sharing of political offices. It was also evident that some of them thought that fusion may rob them of the relevance conferred by their feather-weight parties. Ahead of the 2011 polls, the talks between Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), led by Chief BisiAkande and Congress for Progressive Congress (CPC), led by Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, broke down, owing to “irreconcilable perceptions”. However, the progressives woke up from their slumber lastyear, spurred into action by the national drift. It was evident that the ship of state, as warnedby the late sage,Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in the Second Republic, was about to hit the rock. The PDP Federal Government, argued Akande, failed the nation. The progressives needed to embark on a collective rescue mission tohalt the impending doom, he said. The Constitution provided the tonic. It allows the parties wishing to come together to form a bigger platform to do so,in accordance with the laid down rules. Although the conditions for the merger or fusion of political parties are challenging, necessity compelledthe leaders of ACN, CPC, ANPP and a section of APGA to take the decisive action. Initially, a section of ANPP and CPC was reluctant. They were reassured that the project was in the national interest. The merger committee set up by the parties came up with the name, the All Progressives Congress (APC), which was ratified by their leaders. The group started to exist as a political organisation seeking registration as a political party. The committee chaired by Chief Tom Ikimi also drew up its manifestoe, logo, slogan and Constitution. The PDP was jittery.After informing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that they wanted to form a party, the three parties dissolved into the APC at a special convention in Lagos. After the exercise, their national chairmen, secretaries and treasurers wrote to the electoral agency. They accompanied the letters with the appropriate fees. It was at that stage that the electoral agency announced that some politicians had approached it forthe registration of their political association as a party. The acronym of the strange association clashed with the authentic APC’s. This generated a controversy. INEC later disowned the group. A few weeks ago, the proposed party submitted the list of its interim national officers. The claims were subjected to verification by INEC, based on the guidelinesfor the registration of parties. With its registration yesterday, APC became Nigeria’s second largestparty.

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