• 37 ADC state chairmen declare loyalty to interim leadership after Abuja meeting
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the development of a new online portal to handle political party registration.
The commission said it has received seven additional applications from associations seeking registration, bringing the number to 129.
Meanwhile, in a major show of unity and reaffirmation of purpose, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) held a strategic meeting in Abuja, where all 36 state chairmen and that of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) pledged loyalty to the interim leadership led by former Senate President, David Mark.
National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, in a statement, yesterday, following INEC’s weekly meeting in Abuja, explained that the commission was replacing the manual registration process with a digital platform integrated as a module within the Party Financial Reporting and Auditing System (PFRAS).
He said: “Since last week, seven more applications have been received, bringing the total number so far to 129. All the requests are being processed.
“Unlike the manual method used in previous registration, the commission is introducing a political party registration portal which is a module in our PFRAS. This will make the process faster and more seamless. In the next one week, the commission will conclude the final testing of the portal before deployment.”
The next step for associations that meet the requirements to proceed to the application stage, according to him, will be announced.
He added: “The commission will also issue guidelines to facilitate the filing of applications using the PFRAS.
“Meanwhile, the list of the new associations has been uploaded to our website and other platforms for public information.”
The ADC Abuja meeting, held amid growing political speculations about internal divisions within the party, was aimed at dispelling rumours of discontentand consolidating support for the party’s ongoing coalition-building efforts and reorganisation agenda.
Addressing journalists after the closed-door session, the spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, clarified the intent behind the meeting.
“We invited all the state chairmen to reassure them that we have no intention to shove them aside. The purpose is to dispel all the falsehood and rumours making the rounds that we came to hijack the party from them,” he said.
Abdullahi stressed that the leadership was committed to an inclusive process, describing the state chairmen as “partners in building a stronger political party.”
He said the meeting succeeded in strengthening the confidence of party leaders across the states.
“They are leaving Abuja today more assured than ever that they are critical stakeholders in the future of the ADC,” he added.
Reacting to recent remarks by the party’s former presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, who had questioned the legitimacy of the coalition process and the emergence of the new leadership, Abdullahi dismissed the concerns, asserting that the party “is on solid legal footing.”
Chairman of the ADC Forum of state chairmen and the Kogi State party chairman, Kingsley Ogga, reaffirmed the full support of the state chairmen for the interim leadership and the coalition agenda.
On whether any state chairman might step down in light of the coalition’s reorganisation, Ogga noted that while individuals are free to hold personal views, none had expressed any intention to withdraw or oppose the new leadership.
“Someone might feel differently, but nobody has come out to say so or go against what we are doing,” he said.