The All Progressives Congress has said it is not perturbed by the new political organisation threatening to go to court over the APC acronym.
The umbrella of the merged major opposition parties – Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change and All Nigeria Peoples Party – said it would complete its registration procedure with the Independent National Electoral Commission, despite the conflict over the acronym.
The National Publicity Secretary of one of the constituent parties, ACN, Mr. Lai Mohammed, told SUNDAY PUNCH on Friday that the APC had done all that was required by the Electoral Act and INEC's regulations, adding that nothing could hinder its registration.
Mohammed said, "We are not perturbed by what is happening. Any political organisation can claim whatever they want to. We are not bothered. We are confident that INEC will register us as APC. We have done all that is required by law. We have taken all the steps we are required to take. So, our registration will go on."
He added that APC had carried INEC along in its merger process, and described the threats
"INEC has been aware of every step we have taken. When we did our conventions, INEC was invited. INEC officials served as observers. If the new political association claiming APC is going to court, then it has to sort itself out with INEC. These are just distractions. Nobody should lose sleep over this," he said.
Last Thursday a political association, the All Progressive Congress of Nigeria, threatened to seek a court order to restrain INEC from approving the APC acronym for the All Progressives Congress.
National Secretary of APCN, Mr. Oguzie Ikechukwu, in Abuja said the APCN was relying on sections 2 and 5 of the Freedom of Information Act to ask INEC to furnish it with the names and applications of any other association laying claim to the APC acronym.
He said the APCN had in a similar letter to INEC dated May 22 asked the commission to furnish it with the name of the group which it claimed had earlier applied for registration with such an acronym.
The Punch