I want your votes in 2015 —Jonathan

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, on Tuesday, formally accepted the call to contest 2015 presidential election, offering more political and social freedom to Nigerians who, he said, would never be driven into exile under his watch in the course of exercising their freedom of expression.

The president addressed a crowd at the Eagle Square, Abuja, telling them that having prayed to God, he had, with humility, decided to heed their call to run for a second term in office.


“Therefore, after seeking the face of God, in quiet reflection with my family and having listened to the call of our people nationwide to run, I, Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, have accepted to re-present myself, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for re-election as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the 2015 general election,” he said.

Going through what his administration had achieved in the last three and a half years, he asserted in a veiled reference to the hardship experienced during the military regime of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari that Nigerians could hold and express opinion and promised that they would not be sent to jail.

He also observed that contrary to what obtained during the regime, Nigerians were no longer queuing for essential commodities under his administration.

“We must continue to hold the tempo high in our country. I am proud to say that there are no political prisoners in Nigeria today. No Nigerian has been driven to exile, no one and I repeat, no one will be driven to exile.

“It is in furtherance of a peaceful participatory and inclusive democracy that I signed the Freedom of Information Bill into law, to expand the frontiers of our fundamental freedom.

“Let me reaffirm that under a Jonathan presidency, your views, no matter how freely expressed, will not send you to prison or to exile. I am convinced that I have served my part with Nigerians and it is now time to look into the future.

“With your tremendous support, you have collectively done so much in the last three and a half years. But to take our country to the next level, there is still more work to be done.

“So many things have inspired me in the journey to this moment. I want to appreciate ordinary Nigerians, especially young people, for the solidarity shown me by contributing their meagre resources to enable me to arrive at this point.

“I appreciate the kind gesture of the Miyetti Allah, the market women association, who encouraged me by committing some funds to support me. In the same vein, I’m touched by the widows who also encouraged me by giving me their widow’s mite.

“In taking this decision today, I promise that we cannot go back to the era where our terminal buildings were an eyesore, importing food, where women were deprived from holding sensitive position,” he said.

Promising to work with all Nigerians, Jonathan said “I see a different Nigeria where will take us to outer space.

“I see a Nigerian that you can hold any office not based on ethnicity. I see a Nigeria that our young men and women will have work to do.”

Jonathan recalled that he had stood on the same podium at the Eagles Square about three and a half years ago to ask Nigerians to elect him, noting that having chosen him as president, he remained grateful for the confidence reposed in him.

He noted that the past years had not been easy, because of various challenges facing the country, particularly the insurgency in the North-East.

Citing the most recent Boko Haram attack on Senior Science Secondary School in Potiskum, Yobe State, which led to the death of, at least, 47 students, the president vowed that though the period was a dark cloud over the nation, it would be overcome.

“Many Nigerians have lost their lives and property to these mindless killings,” he said, adding that “a number of young men and women have been kidnapped by these criminal elements, including our daughters from Chibok. We will free our daughters and defeat terrorism.”

The president said he had come under intense criticisms over the handling of the crisis, revealing that his government was currently equipping the armed forces and deploying special forces to fight Boko Haram and end the senseless war.

“We must protect our country. We must save our people. I will do everything humanly possible to end this criminal violence in our nation,” he declared.

He observed that his declaration on Tuesday afforded him the opportunity to continue the conversation started nearly four years ago.

The president pointed out the progress recorded by his administration in the major sectors of the economy, which he observed had led Nigeria to the position of the biggest economy in Africa.

Full text of the speech is on Politics page

Meanwhile, governors of PDP have declared that the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has no plan for the country.

They described the opposition party as “blackmailer, propagandists and agent of distabilisation, which would never rule Nigeria.”

Chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum and Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, disclosed while speaking on behalf of his colleagues at the Eagle Square.

Governor Akpabio, flanked by serving and former PDP governors, made it clear that the ruling party would not handover power to sponsor of terrorism and agents of destabilisation under any circumstances.

According to him, “the opposition is fighting selfish war, they are coming to destabilise Nigeria, but we will not handover this country to blackmailers, sponsors of terrorism, progagandists and those who have no plan for the country.”

While warning that the PDP would not be intimidated over the 2015 general election, Governor Akpabio said the PDP governors, after a tour of the country and having seen the transformation efforts of President Jonathan in all sectors, they resolved not to contest against him in the 2015 presidential race and assured Jonathan that the governors were behind him.

The governor, while acknowledging that the road to 2015 would not be smooth, assured that the party would be victorious in the presidential and other elections.

According to him, “we were robbed of three states, but the entry of Ekiti and Ondo states have increased our number.

“We may end up for 29 or 30 states in the 2015 elections. we know that the road to 2015 will not be smooth, but at the end of the day, we will be victorious. We will not be intimidated. Never again will our children be forced into terrorism. We say Mr President, carry go.”

Speaking on behalf of PDP lawmakers, Senate President, David Mark, noted that if President Jonathan failed to run for Presidency in 2015, the programmes he initiated would be truncated by whoever would come after him.

He said the lawmakers had said no more trial by error leadership in the country, adding that PDP was the first to agree that Nigeria as a nation had security challenges and believed in the ability of President Jonathan to tackle it.

APC flays Jonathan over declaration

Oppositioin APC, on Tuesday, faulted President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration of intention to contest in 2015, despite the death of scores of school children in Monday’s suicide bomb attack in Yobe State.

In a statement by its spokesperson, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Abuja, the party described the president’s decision as insensitive and ill-advised.

“When about 60 students were killed in the terror attack on the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, in February 2014, President Jonathan never visited the scene to commiserate with the families of the victims.

“And when almost 300 girls were freshly abducted in Chibok, President Jonathan neither acted fast enough to rescue the girls nor visited the village. His administration even denied anyone was abducted, until 19 days after.

“This president has, therefore, established a pattern of putting his political interest above the security and welfare of Nigerians who voted him into office,” the statement read.

The party wondered what purpose the Safe Schools Initiative of the Federal Government is serving when over 70 students were allegedly killed and more than 100 maimed within a week in two separate attacks targeting schools in Potiskum alone.

“The Safe Schools Initiative will remain a mere tokenism until the fundamental problem of insurgency, which has claimed thousands of lives, is conclusively addressed.

“Mr President, what Nigerians want is not an isolated Safe Schools Initiative, but a Safe Nigeria Initiative,” the party added.