A former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has begged former President Olusegun Obasanjo not to abandon President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the February 14 presidential election.
Daniel’s plea came less than 24 hours after Obasanjo openly declared support for the re-election of Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, who is a member of the opposition All Progressives Congress.
Daniel, while addressing members of the Peoples Democratic Party at the inauguration of the Goodluck/Sambo Independent Support Team in Lagos on Saturday, said Obasanjo gave the people of the South-South region a sense of belonging by ensuring that Jonathan emerged as vice-president in 2007 and as President in 2011.
He, therefore, begged Obasanjo to finish what he started by ensuring that Jonathan completes his second term as President.
Daniel said, “Obasanjo should finish the job he started in 2011 because a job that is half-done is not done at all. It is the height of injustice for Jonathan and the South-South people not to be allowed to do a second-term. We, the Yoruba people are saying that for the reason of equity, Jonathan should be allowed for a second term and after that, power can shift to the North.”
Meanwhile, the Presidency on Saturday said President Goodluck Jonathan was ready at all times to appease former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
It also agreed with the ex-President that candidates in the forthcoming general elections should be judged by their performance.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said this in an interview recently.
Okupe was reacting to a statement credited to Obasanjo that performance, as against party loyalty, should be the overriding factor in voting for candidates in the February elections.
Okupe said Obasanjo was correct in his submission, which he described as statesman-like.
He said, “Obasanjo is right. I want Nigerians to vote for the next President based on performance. Let Buhari tell us his performance and Goodluck Jonathan should tell us his performance.
“Obasanjo is correct; there is nothing wrong with that. That is very statesman-like of him.
“I want my party’s candidates to win but this election is about performance. Luckily, Buhari has been a Head of State before, it does not matter how long he was in government. He was in government for 20 months; Murtala Muhammed was in government for six months and he became a hero.
“It is not an excuse that 20 months is not enough. In 20 months, Buhari showed clear attributes of indolence and incompetence. He did not add any value to the nation. He did not achieve anything. All he did was to be hard and harsh on people. He was busy harassing southerners like Awolowo and Ajasin.
“If you put that side-by-side with the performance of Jonathan, he has touched everything he met. All 24 airports have been refurbished. He has brought railway back to life. There is substantial achievement in power. We can only go forward, we can’t come back.”
When asked whether the President was still ready to mend fence with Obasanjo, the presidential aide said Jonathan had tremendous respect for the ex-President.
“This President is a liberal-minded President and he has a lot of respect for Obasanjo. He has never hidden that. He believes that Obasanjo is his political father, no matter whether they have disagreements or not.
“The President is ready at all times to make peace and appease the elderly gentleman,” Okupe said.
Similarly, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has said it will not join issues with Obasanjo.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Prof. Wale Oladipo, stated this in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Abuja on Saturday.
He said, “Baba (Obasanjo) remains our leader and therefore we won’t join issues with him. We will continue to work with him and other leaders of our party in Ogun State and Nigeria to achieve success.
“I can however assure you that Gboyega Isiaka is poised to win the governorship election in the state with the support of other members of our party in the state like the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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A vote for Jonathan is a vote for continuity in BH violence, perpetuation of corruption, indiscipline, joblessness and lots more. OGD, your thinking faculty is weak and sick, consult a doctor immediately before it packs up completely.
ReplyDelete@ 6:14, thank u so much, let us keep preaching it, enough of insecurities, corruption and joblessness. Enough of cluelessness! We need change. OGD family live in d UK so he has got nothing to loose to Boko Haram, birds of d same feathers always flock together.
ReplyDeleteIs the Second term a right? GEJ has messed up and should leave,if he have integrity he would have sincerely resigned and for the writer of this speech,u were rational from the beginning to say they should be judged buy performance but u went against ur vomit buy being bias,buy stating all GMB's bad sides and GEJ's good side,are u saying GEJ's administration is flawless and perfect wit no wrong doings and GMB' administration without any good? Am very sure u are so corrupted dat u didn't notice that u board PTF buses and used PTF books too
ReplyDeleteMr Anonymous January 18, 2015 at 12:41 PM re u saying dat ur so call APC or former PTF chairman is nt corrupt? if yes pls let Nigerian know
ReplyDeleteI have come to realize that this platform is meant to discredit,tarnish the good image and name of our president:Some people end up calling him unprintable names. Well,my bible taught me to always pray for our leaders cos uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. But the fact still remains that Jonathan is the best President Nigeria has ever produce. In spite of the numerous problems he met on ground,he has achieved a lot. Look at what he has done in power sector,Agriculture,Rail transportation,Aviation etc The man has built so many Amajiri schools in the north in other for those children to go to school and be useful for themselves. He met Boko haram issue already on ground before becoming president. In a sane society, the man called Buhari would have been arrested for making inflammatory statements such as " i will make the country ungovernable if...." You might not like the man Jonathan, but that cannot erase the fact that he has done well. I sincerely believe that posterity will judge him well. Lets be realistic and be fair in our judgement because one day it might be you! Was it not in this country that we had 4 plane crashes in a year? Was it not in this country that Obasanjo plot to go for Third term? Was it not in this country that Tafa Balogun, the former Inspector General of Police stole millions but went to prison for just 3 months while millions of Nigerians are dying in prison for frivolous offenses? But today, Obasanjo calls another man corrupt. What a funny country! Corruption has always been with us from time immemorial,it did not start in Jonathan's regime and it is absolutely impossible for him to wipe out corruption completely from this nation. I wish Buhari well in his ambition but it is a sad story that a man whose country is facing a serious security crisis which has led to the death of many Nigerians wants to become President before he can lend his voice or offer solution to Boko Haram issue since he knows the solution. What if all Nigerians dies before he become president, who will he rule over? That's a food for thought! Brothers, some of us here are so corrupt in our little ways yet we call another man corrupt. Lecturers in our schools exploit students in other to pass them yet they call others corrupt! What a funny country indeed. Anyway, lets go to the poll!
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