INEC Says It Has Not Rejected APC Merger Bid

… Says It Rejected APCN Bid

SAN FRANCISCO, April 29, (THEWILL) – The Independent National Electoral Commission has said the bid by some merging political parties to register a new party with the All Progressive Congress with the acronym APC has not been turned down. Instead, INEC said it declined the application of another association seeking registration as All Progressives Congress of Nigeria (APCN), for the reason that the acronym proposed by the association is similar to that of another already seeking registration.

A statement Monday by Kayode R. Idowu, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, reads:

“The attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been drawn to reports in some newspapers today, Monday, April 29, 2013, that it has rejected a bid by some political parties to merge as the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“This is to affirm that the reports in the Nigerian Tribune and the Daily Champion are utterly false. The Commission has not written to stop the merger bid as APC.

“The Commission, in a letter by its Secretary dated April 23rd, 2013, only declined an application by another association seeking to register as the All Progressives Congress of Nigeria (APCN), for the reason that the acronym proposed by the association is similar to that of another already seeking registration.

“The Commission hereby reassures Nigerians that it will always do the right thing as a dispassionate and impartial regulator of the political process.”