South-South asks Jonathan to contest in 2015 The South-South Peoples Assembly, SSPA, yesterday asked President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2015 presidential election. The assembly said the President was not in any way disqualified from contesting the election by the constitution, pleading with Nigerians to support him to win the poll. President Jonathan has consistently evaded questions on his intention to contest The South-South Peoples Assembly, SSPA, yesterday asked President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2015 presidential election. The assembly said the President was not in any way disqualified from contesting the election by the constitution, pleading with Nigerians to support him to win the poll. President Jonathan has consistently evaded questions on his intention to contest the election. Some of his party members had advised him to shelve the idea of contesting in 2015. They had argued that Jonathan entered into a pact not to go for the 2015 poll. But, the President, who not only denied such pact, had also joined issues with those pushing to stop his ambition, insisting that nothing disqualified him from contesting. The SSPA, which encouraged him to declare his intention yesterday, also told Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State to stop insulting the President. The assembly, in a communiqué after an expanded National Working Committee meeting in Abuja called on President Jonathan to contest the 2015 presidential elections in consonance with section 131 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. While responding to the allegation by Governor Kwankwaso that the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the 2014 elections is part of the plan by the Presidency to manipulate the election, the SSPA said the comment was part of the insults the President had been receiving. Led by Ijaw leader and former Information Minister, Chief Edwin Clark, the assembly appealed to Nigerians to, in the spirit of national unity and solidarity, give their support to President Jonathan. “The comment of Governor Kwankwaso is part of the insults the President has been receiving since he assumed office. Rigging of election is a thing of the past. Nigerians are tired of rigging,” the assembly said. The group also commended some members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, at the National Assembly, who in defiance of the APC directive participated in the screening of service chiefs and the consideration of the 2014 Appropriation Bill. While appealing to Nigerians to always imbibe the virtues of peace and love, the group said it is only when this is done that the ties of national unity will be strengthened. “We commend President Goodluck Jonathan, for his exemplary candor, comportment and expressed humility, even in the face of several unwarranted provocation, in true demonstration of statesmanship and leadership.” National Mirror
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 06:29:26 +0000
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