Mega party gets INEC’s nod to begin registration procedures

THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has given the Action Democratic Party, ADP, the shell of the proposed mega party, the nod to go ahead with the procedures for full registration as a political party.

The INEC decision came as sponsors and proxies of the proposed party met in Abuja, Monday night, to decide on how the party would take off.

In a letter to the promoters of the party, which Vanguard sighted yesterday, INEC asked the promoters and stakeholders behind the proposed party to go ahead with other requirements in line with the approved guidelines for registration.

A letter dated November 14, 2016, with reference number, INEC/DEPM/ ADP/ 314/1, signed by the INEC’s Director, Election and Party, Monitoring, EPM, Bala Sh!ttu, addressed to the Protem Chairman, ADP, and entitled, “Re: Application For Registration as a political Party,” read: “The commission received your application as a political party under the proposed name, Action Democratic Party (ADP).

“The commission has considered your application and found that the proposed name complies with the requirements for registration as a political party under section 222 of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999( as amended).

“You may wish to proceed with other requirements in line with the approved guidelines for registration of political parties obtainable from the commission’s Elections and Party Monitoring (EPM) Department or download from the Commission’s Website.”

Meantime, at the maiden national meeting of the ADP in Abuja Monday night, the Convener, Alhaji Yabagi Sani, said: “This is the mega party, if you hear of the mega party, this is the mega party.”

Sani, who noted that the political space at the moment could be described as chaotic, said the new party represented the hope for the downtrodden, adding that the cardinal objective of the new party would be to provide leadership that would take Nigeria out of despair.

The meeting had in attendance former National Assembly and state Assembly members, businessmen, technocrats, politicians from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; All Progressives Congress, APC; Social Democratic Party, SDP; Accord, among others.

Indicative of the continued secrecy being put to the project, some of those present, including a former national woman leader of the PDP, a two-term former member of the House of Representatives, asked Vanguard not to mention their names.

Among those sighted were a former Chief whip of the Senate, a former national chairman of a registered political party closely aligned to a former military president among others.