The All Progressives Congress, APC, says it has uncovered a plan relaunch the controversy surrounding its acronym by some persons who may seek to register three new parties that bear the abbreviations of the political parties that merged to form the APC.

The national publicity secretary of the party, Lai Mohammed, in a statement released on Sunday said that the persons behind the plot had applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to register the Allied Council of Nigeria, ACN, Advanced National Patriotic Party, ANPP, and Conservative People’s Congress, CPC.

He said that it was not a coincidence that the acronyms of the three associations seeking registration were the same as those of three of the parties that merged to form the APC “but a grand design by those who have been having sleepless nights since the APC was registered.”

The four parties that merge to form the APC are Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. ”It is worthy of note that the three applications to INEC for the registration of the three organizations as political parties were made on the same day. Apparently, common sense takes flight in the face of great desperation,” the APC statement said. It said further that the plan was to use the registration of the three parties to confuse voters in next year’s general election to the detriment of the APC.

“Once the parties are registered, they will then apply to change their logos to those of the original ACN, ANPP and CPC, and then hope to be on the ballot for next year’s general elections. Just before the elections, the sponsors of the phantom parties will then send out messages saying the APC has splintered into its component parties for the purpose of the election. Whatever happens, their plan is to confuse the electorate and hamper the electoral fortunes of the APC,” the party said.

The APC recalled that there was an attempt to register its acronym with the electoral body shortly before it merged, having adopted its name and urged INEC “not to succumb to the antics of those who are planning to sabotage the 2015 general elections and win elections by subterfuge.”