2015: I WILL RUN – JONATHAN

New York City; After months of dodging the question, President Goodluck Jonathan in New York, United States on Sunday broke his silence on the 2015 presidential election when he said the Constitution allows him to do eight years of two terms

This is even as he warned those fanning the embers of disintegration in the country to refrain from doing so as the interest of the nation was greater than that of any individual. He urged politicians to drop the “do or die” approach to politics and allow him to concentrate on his core mandate of governance. He said that having been elected by Nigerians, he should be allowed to work, adding that they have the right to vote out anybody they are not comfortable with his style of work. The President stated this on Sunday during lunch with Nigerian professionals in New York. He said, “already, we have a constitution that makes provision for maximum of eight years for anyone who wants to become president or governor. There is no president or governor that all citizens did not 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”.

In apparent reference to the festering Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crisis, which has resulted in the splinter group, headed by a former deputy national Chairman, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, and the criticism by the opposition parties, Jonathan said political leaders must be mindful of what they say or do in order not to undermine the sovereignty of Nigeria. He appealed to those he described as colleague politicians that “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 there 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, very temporary”.

Asked if his administration was doing enough to tackle corruption, he said, “so many people are saying 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 a 11 per cent reaching the farmers, but since the coming on board of this administration, government now spends between N5 and N6 billion on fertiliser and we are getting 80 per cent reach. If we wanted to continue to steal money or look for money for election, we could have continued,” the President said. On the privatisation of the power sector, he said the government conducted the over $3 billion exercise in the most transparent manner.  “Yes, we have not yet reached, where we want to reach, but we are making progress,” he said.

Jonathan told the audience that his administration has made significant progress in reviving the rail transportation, aviation, road construction and other infrastructure. “The team that I am working with, we are doing our best to make sure that our country works,” he said.

Source:The Sun.