JONATHAN: I’M ELIGIBLE to run 2015
President Goodluck Jonathan
The president said this in New York Sunday at a luncheon with Nigerian professionals in the United States.
His party, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is now almost split down the middle with so many influential governors and key party members saying he is bound by an agreement reached before his election in 2011 that he would serve one term.
Jonathan has not commented on his but his close aides have been insisting no such agreement exists.
Jonathan, who is in New York for the 68th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, stressed, however, that just like Nigerian constitution allows a president or governor to seek a fresh mandate, Nigerians equally have the right to vote against him/her if dissatisfied with his/her style of governance.
He cautioned politicians against fanning the embers of disintegration, urging them to consider national interests greater than theirs.
The president asked them to shun “do-or-die” approach to politics and allow him to focus on governance which, according to him, is the mandate given him by the electorate.
He said: “Already, we have a constitution that makes a provision for a maximum of eight years for anyone who wants to become a president or a governor. There is no president or governor that all citizens vote for, but at the end of the election, if somebody emerges, you must allow the person to work. If you love your country, you would want your country to work. That does not mean that you will not vote against the person if you don’t like the way he works, but you must allow him to work”.
Apparently referring to the internal wrangling rocking the ruling PDP, Jonathan charged the nation’s political leaders, especially those eyeing his position, to be mindful of their utterances and actions in order not to undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty.
According to him, those aspiring for the 2015 presidency should not bother about who is there at the moment as power itself is transient and temporary.
He said, “No matter how you feel about the political situation, consider the interest of your country first before yourself. If you are struggling to enter a house, you must not put dynamite to destroy the house. By the time you get there, there will be no house for you to stay. So, first and foremost, we must collectively build our country. Don’t bother about who is there now, because power is transient, very temporary”.
The president said his administration is making a tremendous progress in the ongoing privatisation of the power sector.
He noted that the $3 billion privatisation exercise had so far been conducted in the most transparent manner, saying “Yes, we have not yet reached where we want to reach, but we are making progress”.
Reiterating his commitment to the fight against corruption, Jonathan queried the parameter being used by critics to score his administration low in this regard.
“So many people are saying that we are not doing well in fighting corruption and before you say that, there must be a parameter for judging us. What are the yardsticks they are using to judge us? Before the advent of this government, the Federal Government was spending a whopping N25 billion on fertiliser with only 11 percent reaching the farmers, but since the coming on board of this administration, the government now spends between N5 to N6 billion on fertilizer, and we are getting 80 percent reach. If we wanted to continue to steal money or look for money for election, we could have continued,” he said.
The president added that his administration had achieved significant progress in reviving the nation’s transportation and aviation sectors as well as other infrastructure, contending that “The team that I am working with, we are doing our best to make sure that our country works”.
His party, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is now almost split down the middle with so many influential governors and key party members saying he is bound by an agreement reached before his election in 2011 that he would serve one term.
Jonathan has not commented on his but his close aides have been insisting no such agreement exists.
Jonathan, who is in New York for the 68th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, stressed, however, that just like Nigerian constitution allows a president or governor to seek a fresh mandate, Nigerians equally have the right to vote against him/her if dissatisfied with his/her style of governance.
He cautioned politicians against fanning the embers of disintegration, urging them to consider national interests greater than theirs.
The president asked them to shun “do-or-die” approach to politics and allow him to focus on governance which, according to him, is the mandate given him by the electorate.
He said: “Already, we have a constitution that makes a provision for a maximum of eight years for anyone who wants to become a president or a governor. There is no president or governor that all citizens vote for, but at the end of the election, if somebody emerges, you must allow the person to work. If you love your country, you would want your country to work. That does not mean that you will not vote against the person if you don’t like the way he works, but you must allow him to work”.
Apparently referring to the internal wrangling rocking the ruling PDP, Jonathan charged the nation’s political leaders, especially those eyeing his position, to be mindful of their utterances and actions in order not to undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty.
According to him, those aspiring for the 2015 presidency should not bother about who is there at the moment as power itself is transient and temporary.
He said, “No matter how you feel about the political situation, consider the interest of your country first before yourself. If you are struggling to enter a house, you must not put dynamite to destroy the house. By the time you get there, there will be no house for you to stay. So, first and foremost, we must collectively build our country. Don’t bother about who is there now, because power is transient, very temporary”.
The president said his administration is making a tremendous progress in the ongoing privatisation of the power sector.
He noted that the $3 billion privatisation exercise had so far been conducted in the most transparent manner, saying “Yes, we have not yet reached where we want to reach, but we are making progress”.
Reiterating his commitment to the fight against corruption, Jonathan queried the parameter being used by critics to score his administration low in this regard.
“So many people are saying that we are not doing well in fighting corruption and before you say that, there must be a parameter for judging us. What are the yardsticks they are using to judge us? Before the advent of this government, the Federal Government was spending a whopping N25 billion on fertiliser with only 11 percent reaching the farmers, but since the coming on board of this administration, the government now spends between N5 to N6 billion on fertilizer, and we are getting 80 percent reach. If we wanted to continue to steal money or look for money for election, we could have continued,” he said.
The president added that his administration had achieved significant progress in reviving the nation’s transportation and aviation sectors as well as other infrastructure, contending that “The team that I am working with, we are doing our best to make sure that our country works”.
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