Jonathan sidesteps questions on 2015

Jamiu Yisa

President Goodluck Jonathan has said that it is too early for Nigerians to be asking if he will contest the 2015 Presidential elections.

Jonathan who said this during his fourth Presidential Media Chat on Sunday evening, added that the idea (of the media chat) is not for the president to come and defend the action or inaction of the government.

He pledged during the chat that before the 29 May 2015, Nigerians will know that his administration meant well for the country.

According to him,”It is too early to talk about contesting in 2015 or not. Four years is a very short time to make an impact. Give me sometime to make sure that myself and my cabinet work. I don’t want to distract myself and my government. Wait until 2014 before asking that question.

“If he(Obama) did not secure a second term, the conclusion would have been that a black man is not good enough,”Jonathan said on Obama’s victory.

He said he does think that any government has fought corruption the way his administration has done

“The effort this government has put in fighting corruption, I don’t think any other person has done that, I don’t think any other person has fought corruption the way we have done

“All over the world, the extractive industry is always associated with one corruption or the other. This government is fighting corruption frontally, and the results are obvious,” Jonathan said.

He also said that he is not worried about the performance of the ruling party, adding that the PDP family is strong and waxing stronger.

Jonathan also promised to fix the bad Benin-Ore road and promised that his administration has not abandoned the numerous reports of various committees set up to investigate problems in various sectors.

Still positive about the capacity of his adminstration to deliver on electoral promises, he reiterated that, “Before leaving office, we will leave something behind that Nigerians will remember us for.”