With the refreshing assurance from the Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would be re-organized with credible people to make for future free and fair election in Nigeria, the Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress has insisted that only people with proven good character and principle should be appointed into the new INEC to make it credible and for it to reclaim the battered confidence of the Nigerian people. The party therefore urges the Acting President to ensure that the new INEC chairman and commissioners are people who can withstand the pressure to work for the party in power but work for the people of Nigeria to have credible leaders that can drive their growth.

In a release in Lagos, signed by the party’s Lagos State Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, Lagos AC says that what is needed to reclaim the confidence of Nigerians in the electoral system is a team of patriotic and credible Nigerians who are equipped to withstand the undue pressure of desperate politicians to ensure that the people’s votes must count. It said that with such a system, politicians would be discouraged from seeking corrupt short cuts and getting such ratified by conscious less INEC officials as Nigeria’s stormy recent electoral history shows.

“While we do not agree with the Acting President’s insistence that the present INEC can organize credible elections, we feel happy that he did not latch on to such obvious deliberate misreading of what stands as perhaps one of the most corrupt electoral bodies in world history to renew the tenure of the present INEC head and his henchmen. We however believe that given a credible system, it is not for Jonathan to give a verdict on the capacity of the present discredited and charred INEC leadership as he remains one of the greatest beneficiaries of the many odious perfidies of the present INEC leadership.

“Given the present posture of Nigerians towards the electoral system, we believe that the Acting President understands that only a free and fair electoral process will satisfy the yearnings of Nigerians for credible leadership selection process. He also must understand the need to ensure that only people with proven character traits should man INEC now and these should be apolitical umpires who would be trusted to deliver a self-auditing system of leadership selection. We therefore demand that only people of credible social worth and character should be appointed either as INEC chairman or commissioners to oversee the conduct of the 2011 general election and future elections.

“Lagos AC therefore charges politicians to go to the grassroots and work for the people’s votes instead of hoping to get results written for them to access political offices. It advises those in positions of power, who have reneged on working for the interests of the people but were hoping to once again, take advantage of the rotten electoral system that has endured so far, to arrest their dreams because a credible electoral system will not allow such. It urges politicians who depend on electoral fraud to think twice as the envisaged electoral system, after Iwu’s departure will not permit such larceny.

“Lagos AC however, calls on Goodluck Jonathan to expedite action on ensuring that the reports of the Uwais Electoral Reform Panel are wholly adopted to assist a credible INEC leadership to deliver a very credible process in 2011. It insists that comprehensive electoral reforms should be carried out to ensure that the votes of the Nigerian people count in 2011. It insists that for such process to be effective, every stakeholder must be involved. It however sees the removal of Iwu as a right start towards ensuring a credible election holds in 2011. It says that such process could only be brought to fruition with the adoption of the Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reform panel and the appointment of credible Nigerians to see to its implementation.”

Joe Igbokwe.
Publicity Secretary,
Lagos AC.
Link:
http://www.saharareporters.com/letters/press-releases/5797-lagos-ac-hails-jonathan-on-iwu-charges-on-2011-election.html