Five Parties Share APC Leadership Positions

24.06.2013, 8:45  Politics, Naija news

Five parties involved in the merger of opposition parties have shared the leadership positions of the All Progressive Congress (APC), according to a document seen by Daily Trust at the weekend.

As earlier reported by Daily Trust, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) got the national chairman, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) was given the national secretary, while the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) got the national treasurer.

For their part, factions of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Democratic People's Party (DPP) who are in the merger got national organising secretary and national auditor positions respectively, Daily Trust learnt.

Other positions taken by the ACN are legal adviser, deputy national treasurer, national publicity secretary, deputy national youth leader, two national vice chairmen (south west and south south) and two ex-officio members.

The ANPP, apart from the national secretary, also got national financial secretary, deputy national organising secretary, deputy national publicity secretary, two national vice chairmen (north west and north east) and two ex-officio officers.

CPC, for its part, in addition got the posts of deputy national chairman north, deputy national secretary, deputy national legal adviser, deputy national auditor, national woman leader, national youth leader, one vice chairman (north central) and one ex-officio officer.

APGA was also given the posts of deputy national chairman south, deputy national financial secretary, deputy national women leader, one vice chairman and one ex-officio. DPP got deputy national secretary, in addition to national auditor.

The parties will fill in these slots in the interim, pending the registration of the APC by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which will be followed by ward and state congresses as well as national convention where substantive officers will be elected.

Meanwhile the ANPP at the weekend set up a new committee headed by the National Chairman Dr. Ogbonayya Onu to among others handle the sharing of positions allotted to the party in the APC merger arrangement.

This was among the resolutions reached at the end of the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Abuja on Saturday. The committee includes former and serving governors of the party and their mandate is to continue to act on behalf of the party in the merger negotiations until APC is registered.

Speaking during the opening of the meeting, Onu said the merger with other opposition political parties would enable the party control more states in 2015.

"This merger has strengthened the hands of our governors, success in future elections can now be better guaranteed. The merger is equally important that in the states where we have reasonable presence, but in the past could not win elections," he said.

He added, "At the stage where the merger process has reached, at the moment, I am happy to inform you that we have met all the conditions for the three major opposition political parties, ACN, ANPP and CPC, to merge as prescribed by law and contained in the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). What is now left is for us to fulfil the conditions for the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a political party."