EXTRA: APC’s newspaper advert carries logo of defunct ACN

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

The transition of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013 might have been lost on some graphic artists, who might not have been sold on the “change” message.

In an advertorial in the Vanguard on Saturday, an advert by APC carried the logo of the defunct ACN, one of its legacy parties.

Ahead of the 2015 general election, the ACN, which was formerly known as Action Congress (AC), had merged with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) to form the APC.

The artist might have been confused by the fact that both logos have the broom.

In the advertorial signed by Lanre Issa-Onilu, the APC spokesman, the national working committee expressed dissatisfaction with the legislative crises in Edo and Bauchi states.

The party called on Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo state, and Bala Mohammed, his Bauchi counterpart, to ensure “proper inauguration” of the state assemblies.

Nine Edo house of assembly lawmakers said to be loyal to Obaseki had edged out their colleagues by taking oath of office “secretly”.

In Bauchi, two factions of the state assembly elected different speakers.

“We view this illegality with shock and disappointment. As a party that has made a commitment to change, we strongly reject any attempt to take a recourse to brigandage of the past, when democratic practices were defined by the inordinate whims of people in power,” the advertorial read.

Contacted by TheCable for reaction on the error, Issa-Onilu said: “I have no idea where it came from. We don’t issue statements on letter-headed papers.”