President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday in Washington DC, USA, said the days when a few politicians, acting in concert with their hirelings and thugs, could hijack voter cards and other electoral materials to manipulate the outcome of elections were gone forever in Nigeria.
The President also said the Federal Government would take all necessary steps to ensure that no individual, group or political party would be able to thwart the legitimate choice of voters in Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.
A statement by Jonathan’s spokesman, Reuben Abati, said the President spoke at a meeting he had with Nigerian professionals in the US.
Jonathan was quoted as saying that he remained fully committed to keeping the promise he made in 2011 that he would do everything possible to ensure that elections in Nigeria become very free, fair and credible.
He said the promise had been fulfilled in recent elections in Edo, Ondo and Ekiti States.
The President was quoted to have told his audience that “the issue of credible elections must be institutionalised in Nigeria. Our electoral processes were not very good or credible when we came into office, but as I promised, we have been working very hard to change things and ensure that our elections are more credible, that every legitimate vote counts and that the results are acceptable to the electorate.
“I promise you that the Osun governorship elections will be very free, fair and credible.”
Responding to other concerns raised by the Nigerian professionals, the President said that the Federal Government would continue to give the highest possible priority to policies and programmes that would lead to the creation of enough jobs for the Nigerian youth.
“Job creation is a challenge to every government in the world. We are doing all that we can to tackle the problem in Nigerian because we know that we have a very youthful population and if we do not create enough jobs to meet their needs, the country will be in trouble,” he said.
Jonathan also spoke of his administration’s efforts to improve standards and access to educational institutions in Nigeria, address the national housing deficit and further empower women.
He thanked the Nigerian professionals abroad for their support for his government and urged them to continue to show love and concern for the well-being of their fatherland.
“We expect you continue to add more value to what we are doing and we will continue to engage your services and expertise when we can, because if we do not, the valuable education and skills you have acquired will be of no benefit to the development of our country,” he said.
The President later received and commended young Nigerians who are participating in the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, a leadership programme sponsored by the US government to train young African professionals in American universities, government departments and private sector.
Out of the 500 places on the programme, 45 were won by young Nigerians in a competitive selection process. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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