Security beef up at INEC hqtrs over planned protest by APC

ABUJA—In apparent response to media reports during weekend that the opposition coalition, the All Progressives Congress, APC, planned to embark on a protest if it was denied registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, security was yesterday beefed up at the national headquarters of the commission. When reporters visited INEC headquarters, it was observed that more security operatives had been deployed to complement those on regular duty. At the gate of the commission, two anti-riot policemen with bomb detectors were sighted as they frisked all visitors. Anti-riot policemen were deployed to join forces with a strong contingent of policemen who have been on regular duty at INEC headquarters for years. It was also gathered that additional operatives of the State Security Service, SSS, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, were also drafted to the commission’s headquarters. It was further observed that stricter control of movement in and out of INEC headquarters was enforced. Commenting on the development, Mr Kayode Idowu, Chief Press Secretary to Chairman of the Commission Prof. Attahiru Jega, confirmed that the tightened security around the commission might be the response of security agencies to last weekend’s media reports about a planned protest against the commission. He, however, explained that the commission was not directly responsible for handling security at its headquarters. Responding to another question as to how the commission was handling the rivalry over the APC acronym that is being claimed by several political associations that applied for registration as parties, Idowu said the commission was actually considering only the application of All Progressives Congress, APC, coalition. He explained that since the African People’s Congress, APC, had dragged the commission to court over the controversy, the commission could no longer act on any matter concerning the association until the court delivered its verdict on the case. Said he: “You know that INEC has been dragged to court over this matter. We cannot comment on any matter that is in court. So, right now, it is only the application of the APC coalition that is receiving attention for registration. As far as the commission is concerned, the process is on-going.” In response to another question on what would happen, should INEC go ahead to register the APC coalition but is eventually overruled by the court, he responded that the commission would decide on what to do when that situation arose in the future, adding that INEC obeyed all court verdicts. Said he: “When we get to that bridge, we would cross it. What I have said is that INEC does not disobey court orders.” In a related development, the National Legal Adviser to the rival African People’s Congress , APC, Mr. Kingsley Nnadi, has said it was no longer interested in its application to INEC for registration, pointing out that the law which empowered INEC to register political parties, also empowered the judiciary to conduct a review of any registration carried out by the commission. Said Nnadi: “We are not asking INEC to register us anymore. There is nothing new about what the INEC official said. Yes, we are in court because the same Electoral Act which empowered INEC to register political parties also makes a provision for judicial review of such a decision in section 79 of the Electoral Act. “We have the right to seek a review of that decision. As a body established by law, the leadership of INEC ought to know that when a matter is in court, it ought not to do anything to compromise or destroy the substance of the matter. “If they go ahead to register any other group with a name that is in conflict with our association’s name, and the court decides that our own group is the authentic APC, what would happen to the merger?” He further said that he believed that the reported INEC advise to All Progressives Congress to choose another acronym was the right thing to do to save the nation’s nascent democracy. Nnadi further debunked the widespread rumor that his association was being sponsored by the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to frustrate the bid of the opposition merger group for registration.