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Lagos AC Charges Acting President on Electoral Reforms

February 11, 2010

The Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress has charged the Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan to pursue the issue of electoral reform with utmost sincerity and speed so as to rescue the Nigerian electoral system from its present pitiable and restore the confidence of Nigerians on the electoral system. The party says that the critical position of elections in the life of any nation means that allowing it to further degrade with the hope of continuing to benefit from the rot will not augur well for the country.

The Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress has charged the Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan to pursue the issue of electoral reform with utmost sincerity and speed so as to rescue the Nigerian electoral system from its present pitiable and restore the confidence of Nigerians on the electoral system. The party says that the critical position of elections in the life of any nation means that allowing it to further degrade with the hope of continuing to benefit from the rot will not augur well for the country.
In a release in Lagos, signed by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the AC, Joe Igbokwe, the party says that while it is tempting to present a lengthy wish list to the Acting President, in view of the enormity of the problems currently facing the country, we want to collapse these to the great need to reform our electoral process to ensure that good and credible leaders are elected to deal with these problems. The party therefore cautioned Jonathan not to be tempted into thinking that because the present shoddy electoral system benefits his party, the country would be forced to continue living with it.

“We are aware that the Acting President knows that Nigeria is sick and troubled from the corruption and mediocrity, which his party, the PDP has deftly promoted in the past eleven years. We know that Goodluck Jonathan knows of the total decay of infrastructures, the rampaging poverty level, the crashing standard of living, the critical unemployment situation, the Niger Delta crisis, insecurity of lives and property, industrial mortality, rabid corruption, sectarian and ethnic crisis, nepotism and such other negative tendencies, which have succeeded in arresting the progress of the country especially in the last eleven years. We are aware that the Acting President notes the level of disillusionment and malcontent in the Nigerian polity brought about the mishandling of the ship of state and the urgent need to deal with this in the interest of the country.

“Most importantly, Lagos AC wants to believe that the Vice President notes the political decay which has made majority of Nigerians to give up on the country’s political system and the leaders it churns out. We are aware that the Acting President notes that the level of disenchantment and political insulation is at its highest ever point in the history of the country hence the loud and strident call for a reform of the country’s fraud-ridden electoral system. We hope he will see the need to pursue this pan-national demand with the speed and sense of purpose it requires because this holds a key not only to the survival of this shaky democracy but for the progress of the distressed Nigerian nation.

“We want to let the Acting President know that his job has been made easier by the Jutice Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reform Panel, which has made far-reaching recommendations on the minimum standards to ensure electoral reform. We urge him to quickly adopt the reports and ask for commensurate legislation while putting in place the processes that will ensure that henceforth, elections in Nigeria will command a reasonable degree of confidence among Nigerians. We want him to pursue this critical electoral reforms with a single minded commitment of getting Nigeria out of the woods where unelected leaders has taken it into.

“Lagos AC notes the corrosive effects of illegitimate elections and how it has crumbled the nation through the imposition of unpopular iullegitimate leaders that have rather worked to shrink the capacity of the nation and her people and says that a credible leadership selection process will go a long way in driving the Nigerian people to peace, progress and rapid development. It therefore urges the Acting President to shake off pressures from political profiteers and hawks within his party to reform the electoral process for the sake of the nation and prosperity.”

 

Joe Igbokwe.

Publicity Secretary,

Lagos AC.

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