Sole candidature: By Clifford Ndujihe The coast is now very clear for President Goodluck Jonathan. He has little or no option in the matter. He has been nudged to a point of no return. His declaration to seek re-election is expected in a matter of days ahead of the sales of presidential nomination and expression of interest forms of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) beginning on October 27. As it is, he is the only one expected to collect the forms, a move that ultimately will rob the ruling party of income. The PDP presidential forms will cost N22million, so more presidential aspirants would mean more income. President Goodluck Jonathan’ One-by-one, all the blocs and stakeholders in the PDP have adopted or endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan as their sole candidate for the presidential polls billed for Valentine Day, February 14, 2015. It started with the PDP chapters in the six geo-political zones, which endorsed President Jonathan for second term followed by the party’s governors’ forum led by Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, the Board of Trustees (BoT) and now the National Executive Committee (NEC). The crisis in the PDP recently, which made some party leaders, lawmakers and members to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) only paved the way for an easy passage for the president. Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, who appeared as the major or only obstacle to President Jonathan picking the PDP ticket has joined the Jonathan for 2015 wagon. PDP BoT, NEC, govs’ endorsement The party’s BoT on Thursday morning unanimously adopted President Jonathan as the sole candidate of the party for the 2015 presidential polls The decision of the BOT, according to the former Minister of Information and member of the Board, Professor Jerry Gana was an affirmation of the position of the PDP governors who had on Wednesday taken such position and presented same to the board. Prof Gana said the endorsement of the president as PDP’s sole candidate for the 2015 presidential race was unanimously done by BoT members with a standing ovation after chairman of the PDP governor’s forum, Akpabio, briefed them that PDP governors had unanimously endorsed Jonathan as the party’s sole candidate for 2015. Professor Gana quoted the Akwa Ibom governor as saying that the PDP governors agreed that none of them will present themselves for the position of president in the PDP primaries, which means no PDP governor would be interested to contest the office of president with Jonathan. Indeed, at the NEC meeting where another endorsement move was consummated, Governor Lamido joined Governor Aliyu Muázu of Niger State to adopt Jonathan on behalf of PDP governors. Two hurdles before Jonathan With the development, Jonathan has only two hurdles to scale if he wants to remain in Aso Rock after May 29, 2015. The first hurdle is Jonathan himself. He has to declare his re-election intention, which ultimately will be ratified at the December 6 presidential primaries of the PDP. The second hurdle is the challenge expected at the February 14 election from the opposition parties led by the APC. Consequently, all eyes are now on President Jonathan, who said he was humbled and overwhelmed by the endorsements and would not disappoint. Will he declare? When? If not, why? Jonathan’s endorsement raise dust in South-East The endorsement of President Jonathan for second term by PDP stakeholders and some groups is raising dust in the South-East On the front burner mainly is the recent declaration of the apex Igbo socio-cultural association, Ohanaeze Ndigbo by its President-General, Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey that the body would back Jonathan for re-election and is not interested in the participation of Ndigbo to produce the President of Nigeria in the 2015 election. WIC kick Deliberating on the issue, the World Igbo Congress (WIC) opposed the endorsements. In a communiqué by Ichie Larry Udorji (chairman) and Chief Cyril C. Nwaguru (secretary general), it resolved that the Igbo should contest the 2015 election because President Jonathan has not yet declared an interest in seeking his party’s nomination for president and has not declared an interest in presenting himself for re-election as President; and the Igbo have thousands of women and men who can serve Nigeria as President. It urged political parties in Nigeria to give serious consideration to nominating an Igbo as its presidential candidate for the 2015 election to address decades of deliberate and systematic punitive exclusion of Ndigbo in presidential politics. Jonathan’s re-election ‘ll ensure political stability –NCSN However, another Igbo group, the Ndigbo Cultural Society of Nigeria (NCSN) said apart from performance there were more compelling reasons Jonathan should be allowed to continue. NCSN President, Chief Udo Udeogaranya, said: “Away from the debates of pros and cons of President Jonathan’s performance, political stakeholders need to underscore one infallible fact, that as it stands today, only Jonathan has a constitutional limitation of one term of four years. Any other Nigerian seeking the office of president, if elected, will definitely go for eight years regardless of any form of agreement of one term of four years. “Another very important consideration is that Nigerians seemed to have come to terms with an unwritten agreement that geopolitical zones of the country are entitled to a complete tenure of two terms, since South-West took their turn. This is the practical reason no serious political party will consider fielding a candidate from the South-West for now. “Therefore, any attempt to obstruct any zone from maximizing a complete set of two terms, may add that zone to the list of zones threatening to make Nigeria ungovernable. So, a wise counsel dictates that the re-election of Jonathan is indeed a necessity for stability of our dear country as four years in the life of a nation is not much.” Ohanaeze has betrayed Ndigbo –Okorie Commenting on the issue, National Chairman of the United Progressives Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie, whose party has zoned its presidential ticket to the South-East, said Ohanaeze had betrayed Ndigbo by endorsing Jonathan. “The statement credited to the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey, stating in clear terms that Ohanaeze Ndigbo is not interested in the participation of Ndigbo to produce the President of Nigeria in the 2015 Presidential election is heart-rending and the unkindest cut of all,’’ he said. Noting that Ohanaeze Ndigbo was designed as a non-partisan socio-cultural Pan-Igbo organization for the propagation, promotion and preservation of Igbo cultural heritage, education, economic and welfare of Igbo people in Nigeria and in the Diaspora, he said the least that is expected of the leadership of Ohanaeze at this time is to appreciate and commend the UPP for zoning the presidency to the South-East. “The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo by the reckless statement he has made regarding the interest of Ohanaeze or lack of it in an Igboman vying for the President of Nigeria in 2015 is a grievous act of ingratitude to UPP, as well as the betrayal and sabotage of the Igbo collective aspiration. Neither Afenifere nor Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Ohanaeze counterparts in Yoruba and the North, will ever be caught undermining the collective aspiration of their people. We demand the General Assembly of Ohanaeze to disown the statement credited to its President General and reassert their commitment to the well-being and welfare of the Igbo race in line with the vision of the founding fathers of Ohanaeze,” he added. At last, presidential aspirants emerge IT was slow, very slow in coming but at last, though reluctantly, the presidential aspirants have started emerging. At the last count, nine prominent Nigerians have been mentioned in connection with the 2015 presidential election that is less than five months. Those said to be interested in being the chief occupant of Aso Rock include President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar of the APC, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (APC), Mr Sam Nda-Isaiah (APC), Musa Kwankwaso (APC), Rochas Okorocha (APC), Senator Bukola Saraki (APC), Hon Aminu Tambuwal (APC) and Mr. Sam Nwanti of the Mega Progressive Peoples Party, MPPP. Among the lot only Nda-Isaiah has publicly declared his aspiration. Atiku Abubakar will declare next week, specifically on September 24. Nwanti will also declare next Wednesday in Owerri. The rest are still consulting and speaking in hush tones. President Jonathan, who has been endorsed as a sole presidential candidate by all arms of his party is yet to tell Nigerians whether or not he would seek for re-election although he promised not to disappoint those urging him to run. Now that the aspirants have emerged… Now that the aspirants have started emerging, almost too close to the election, the electorate want the political atmosphere to be electrified. They want to know what their would-be president can offer. What is their pedigree? Can they do things differently? What are their programmes and policies for education, job creation, economy, healthcare, taxation, energy and power supply, industrialisation, provision of basic amenities, etc? How will they check the flickering flames of Boko Haram insurgency?
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 17:52:02 +0000
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