3rd December, 2012
The 2015 general election is still about three years away but it appears to be the subject of discussion in political circles now. Instead of fulfilling the promises they made to the electorate during the 2011 election, the politicians in government have been meeting to perfect strategies towards the coming election.
We are concerned that this is happening at this early stage of the administration when all attention should be focused on delivering their campaign promises to the people.
Various reports in the media suggest that politicians are already strategising for an election that is still about three years away. They appeared to have relegated the interest of the electorate to the background and are only interested in serving their selfish interest.
Though President Goodluck Jonathan has warned his aides not to get involved in the scheming for the 2015 election because it is too early in the life of his administration, it appears most of these aides have not heeded the advice of their principal.
In his response to a question on whether he will seek a second time in office in 2015 during one of his presidential media chat, President Jonathan told his interviewers that it was still too early to talk about 2015. He said he was focused on delivering his transformation agenda to the people.
But we are surprised that despite this clarification by the president, the political space is filled with reports of politicians gathering to discuss an election that is still far away. Reports indicate that aides and supporters of the president have been doing everything possible to ensure that he is returned to office at all costs, come 2015.
The opposition have also not helped matters as they too have been meeting to explore the possibility of merging to oust the ruling party in power instead of holding the government accountable to the people.
We believe this should not be so at this period. What should occupy the minds of our politicians now is how to provide dividends of democracy for the people and not jostling for an election that is still far away.