Leaders of the All Progressives Congress are expected to meet in Lagos on Thursday to discuss the sharing of posts in the newly formed group as well as its constitution.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the APC leaders would also conclude deliberations on its application for registration as well as necessary documents to be submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Premium Times reports that the meeting will be attended by leaders of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance as well as the Joint Inter-Party Merger Committee.
The JIMC had earlier in the month set up three subcommittees, comprising 20 members each, to design the association’s constitution, manifesto, logo and slogan as well as determine and examine all legal issues that will ensure full compliance with all legal issues relating to the process of merger.
A member of the merger committee told the news portal on Thursday that the meeting would discuss the new party’s constitution and agreements/understanding among the merging parties. The Constitution Subcommittee had a tough job examining the constitutions of all the four parties in order to produce a common constitution agreeable to the partners, the source told Premium Times.
The partners are expected to hold their national conventions in April to ratify documents for the merger.
“That meeting will finalise everything relating to the merger and thereafter the parties will convene their national conventions. At the conventions, each party will formally inform their members that they are going into merger and that the current identities of the parties will cease because their certificates will be cancelled.
“The certificates will be returned to INEC and those parties will cease to be known by their current names. It is after the convention that the interim officials will be picked for the purpose of INEC’s registration requirements and afterwards the substantive officers,” the source said.
When contacted, ACN National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, confirmed to Saturday PUNCH that the party leaders would meet on Thursday to discuss the constitution.
He said the merger committee consisting of representatives of each party had produced the APC constitution.
According to him, members of the committee agreed to go back to their parties and make inputs to the constitution.
He said a sub-committee would be set up to harmonise the positions of the parties on the constitution.
Also, the CPC National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, confirmed that the merger committee would meet next week.
