LAGOS ACN MEMBERS SUE PARTY, ARP SETS JAN 12 FOR CONGRESS

LAGOS State chapter of the African Renaissance Party (ARP) has announced a timetable for its congress.

ARP, in a statement signed yesterday by its chairman, Udoka Udeogaranya, put the state's congress on January 12, 2010.

All candidates for Lagos State elective offices are to emerge during the congress, which will later be conveyed to the headquarters of the party.

The statement read: 'All our candidates for the Lagos State elective offices will emerge at the congress and will be conveyed to our party's national office for onward transmission to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)'.

The party, in the statement, called for equal opportunities for all political parties during the 2011 general elections.

Meanwhile, in the wake of what they perceived as arbitrariness in the conduct of its party congresses in Lagos State, some aggrieved members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) have instituted legal action against the party.

Also, the dissatisfied members raised alarm on the absence of internal democracy as they claimed they were denied fresh membership registration exercise.

In a statement by Rasaq Okesiji and Co., counsel to the claimants, it noted that the party's patent arbitrariness and its leadership dictatorial tendencies have resulted in lack of internal democracy and abuse of party processes.

'The general public and members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) are hereby alerted to a pending suit No. ID/6571/2010 (Barr. Kola Osundairo and 25 Ors. ACN Lagos state and Ors) against the ACN party in Lagos State currently holding at Court No. 10, Ikeja High Court, Lagos State. The said suit was instituted on December 6 by some concerned and aggrieved members of the ACN party. It is also being contented in the suit as proof of the party's lack of internal democracy that the conduct of the party's congresses and/or primaries in Lagos State cannot be valid in the absence of a fresh membership registration exercise of the party in Lagos State, which other state chapters of the party already engaged in', the statement noted.

The statement noted further that despite the court action, the party had continued to behave as if all was well, while advising the public to be wary of any subterfuge to portray the contrary.

'The general public should, therefore, be wary and alert to any subterfuge or lies to show that all is well within the fold of the ACN in Lagos State to the extent that this suit does not exist or has been withdrawn by our clients', it added.