[size=14pt]Jega: Opposition Merger Must Choose New Name[/size]

[img]http://serving.thisdaylive.com/0bef99d6-acf5-4e2c-9779-8fa02ba3fcd4/assets/161212F2.Attahiru-[/img]

24 Mar 2013
From John Shiklam in Kaduna and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja


Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega, said saturday in Kaduna that promoters of the opposition merger, All Progressives Congress, did not declare a formal intention to form a political party under the name of APC until a few days ago, after another group had approached the commission with a plan to register a party under a similar name. Jega stressed that the opposition merger, having ignored a crucial criterion that would have secured their use of the name, APC, must now choose another name if they are to actualise their dream of becoming a political party.
Jega spoke when he featured as a guest on the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Kaduna, Hausa phone-in programme, Hanu Dayawa.


But Jega’s comments came amid information at the weekend that sponsors of the three-party merger might not be willing to pick another name, as they have already produced a draft constitution and manifesto using the name of APC. The merger involves All Nigeria Peoples Party, Congress for Progressive Change, and Action Congress of Nigeria, as well as a faction of All Progressives Grand Alliance.


The draft constitution provides for a six-month transitional structure that would lead to the merger’s formal registration as a political party.


During the live audience participation programme monitored in Kaduna, Jega lashed out at the opposition merger’s sponsors for overlooking a fundamental condition for registration as a political party and declared that the negligence had cost them the name they currently maintain.


Promoters of the APC merger have accused INEC of sabotaging their bid to register as a political party by accepting an application from another group with acronymic similarity, African Peoples Congress.


But the INEC chairman explained, “This issue has generated controversy in the past few weeks. Firstly, the truth is that no political party has written to notify us that it is planning to merge with some other political parties until the past five days or so. Therefore, it not true that we have been notified. The issue became serious when one group came out to seek registration. I guess that was what made them to write and notify us.
“But that is not the issue. The main issue is that there are guidelines for registered political parties who want to merge to become a new party. There are also guidelines for individuals or groups who want to form a political party for registration. “The guideline for registering a new political party is different from that of registered political parties who want to merge.”


He gave details of the criteria for the formal registration of political parties.


“For registered political parties, who want to merge, they must have agreed to merge and each of the political parties in the merger must hold a convention and agree to withdraw their registration as a political party, to become part of the new party to be formed through the merger. After their conventions, they are expected to write and request INEC to withdraw their former registration and say they want to join a new party,” the INEC chairman stated.

“In spite of all the noise going on, none of these political parties who want to merge has held their convention. We only read in the newspapers that they have the intention of merging and nobody wrote us until about five or six days ago."


“If anybody wants to register a political party, you are expected to tell INEC of your intention by saying that you want to register a party with so and so name and you want to know the procedure for doing so.”


Jega said, “Only one group came. The group asked one lawyer to write INEC saying they want to form a political party with a particular name and they want to know the rules and procedure for registration as a political party."


“If this other group has done so, we would have replied them and told them the rules and the procedure they are supposed to follow to be registered.

“The issue of whether we have collected the name of this other group and whether we have agreed to register them does not even arise because we just replied to their letter by telling them the procedure."


“While this was going on, some people started making noise, saying that they wanted to merge with so, so name. Some of them were even saying that we have registered the other group with that name. It is not done like that."


“We have rules and guidelines for all these and we are determined to follow the rules to avoid any confusion. But we have not reached a stage where we can say a group has registered with so, so name. So all these noise is just our politics in Nigeria.”


The INEC chairman disclosed that the commission had written to the three parties seeking to merge to change their name because a group had already applied for registration with a name that had the same acronym with theirs.


According to Jega, “We have told them to look for another name. If you want to register a company, before the company is registered, you will have to apply for a name with the Corporate Affairs Commission, which will take some time to search if the name is free."

“We don't operate like this in INEC, but because of this controversy, we have learnt a lesson. I think at the end of the day, we will also adopt the same system to avoid this problem."

“We must operate according to the rules and we will work with anybody who fulfils the provisions of the law. Somebody first came with the name and we have explained that we are already screening the person who first came with the name.”



APC Draft Constitution, Manifesto Ready

Despite Jega’s position, THISDAY learnt at the weekend that the opposition APC merger partners had come up with a draft constitution and manifesto for their proposed party.
THISDAY got the draft constitution and manifesto from a source who said the merging parties were insisting on registering under the name of APC.


As part of the process to actualise the merger, the coalition parties are said to have resolved through their constitution to set up transitional structures of APC at the national, state and local government levels throughout the federation.


In the constitution, which has been circulated among the parties for consideration, sharing of transitional offices at the national level is to be based on the strength of each party at the last National Assembly election.
Similarly filling of party positions at the state, local government and ward levels is to be based on the performance of the parties at the last elections into the states Houses of Assembly.


The draft constitution further states that where there are no members elected to the state assembly, the result of the last governorship election shall form the basis of the allocation of position.


One of the key provisions in the draft constitution is the modalities for the management and transfer of assets owned by the merging parties and groups. The parties are proposing in the constitution to have all their assets automatically transferred to the new party, APC, right from the date of its registration with INEC.


According to the manifesto, “APC in government shall muster the political will to wage strident war against corruption; otherwise our post-oil-era will be disastrous. It is our concerned view that none of our cardinal programmes will succeed if the current level of corruption and looting going on in the land is allowed to continue.”