In a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also called on Nigerians from all walks of life to be part of the current campaign for electoral reform before the 2011 elections.
It urged President Umaru Yar’Adua to personally lead the push for the reform, in line with the pledge he made at his inauguration in 2007.

AC said the direct appeal to President Yar’Adua follows the obvious lack of interest on electoral reform in the National Assembly, where the PDP has an overwhelming majority and could easily push through any reform if it so wishes, and also the lethargy among the state governors, most of whom see the current electoral mess as their sure ticket to re-election or to install their own successors.

The party pointed to the fact that Monday’s meeting of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum discussed everything but electoral reform to buttress its claim that the governors are not interested in the issue.
“President Yar’Adua should pursue a one-point agenda - electoral reform - that is sure to etch his name in gold, despite the widely acknowledged failure of governance under his watch in the past two years.

“This President has a rare, historic opportunity to rise above the fray and leave a lasting legacy for Nigeria by championing a system in which the people can freely and fairly elect those who lead them. The first step is to fully adopt the recommendations of Justice Uwais on electoral reform,’’ the party said.
It expressed concern over what is happening in Anambra state, especially the rigging and violence witnessed in a mere ward congress and the desperation of would-be candidates, put at about 50, for the ticket of the PDP.

“The reason for this desperation is simple: These contestants are aware that under the present system, anyone who picks the PDP ticket is sure to be rigged into office, since the votes of the people do not count anyway and as long as the discredited and shamelessly partisan INEC Chairman Maurice Iwu remains in charge

“What is happening in Anambra is definitely a tip of the iceberg. Things are bound to get worse as we approach the 2011 polls, unless we all put our differences aside and reform our electoral system.
“The task is not for politicians alone, but for all Nigerians. For example, business men and women may pretend not to be concerned, but have they imagined what would happen to their investments if the country goes down over election issues, which brought down the first and second republics?

“If governors and lawmakers are turning deaf ears to the cry for electoral reform because of their own personal agenda, in what country will they serve if things get bad because of the anarchic electoral system we currently operate? This is why we are calling on everyone to join the ongoing quest for an enduring electoral system,’’ AC said.