24th September, 2013
The Abubakar Baraje led faction of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has advised President Goodluck Jonathan not to seek re-election in 2015.
The group said in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday that while the President had before 2011 elections promised not to seek a second tenure of office, its review of current state of the nation and pulse of Nigerians showed that his 2015 ambition will also not be in the best interest of the country.
The breakaway faction of PDP said this in a statement it issued in reaction to the President’s affirmation of his right to a second tenure of office as stipulated in the Nigeria constitution last Sunday in New York.
In the statement which was signed by Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, its national publicity secretary, Baraje led PDP said though the President is yet to declare his intention to run in 2015, he has given enough clues that he is working to do so.
The group recalled that the President has similarly affirmed his right to a second term of office in a affidavit in response to the suit instituted at an Abuja High Court by a PDP chieftain, Cyriacus Njoku, seeking to stop him from contesting the 2015 presidential election.
“We are worried that Mr. President is intent on running despite his earlier promise not to do so and in spite of the wise counsel of well-meaning Nigerians, including respected elder statesmen.
In February, 2011 while interacting with Nigerians and diplomats working in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union (AU) in Ankara, Turkey, President Jonathan clearly stated: “I would have loved that the Nigerians in Diaspora vote this year (2011) but to be frank with you, that is going to be difficult now. Presently, the law does not allow the voting outside Nigeria and so this year Nigerians in Diaspora will not vote but I will work towards it by 2015 even though I will not be running for election.”
“Mr. President went ahead to add: “Four years is enough for anyone in power to make significant improvement and if I can’t improve on power within this period, it then means I cannot do anything even if I am there for the next four years.”
“This is a historical fact which Mr. President himself cannot deny now since he had two years to deny that statement but never did so.
“How does Mr. President want Nigerians and the entire world to see him for this volte face? Why can he not keep his words as a man of honour instead of allowing himself to be misled by selfish advisers to go back on his words, thereby overheating the polity?
“Mr. President should heed the advice of well-meaning distinguished personalities such as constitutional law guru, Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN) and Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, all of whom have advised him to correctly read the handwriting on the wall and stay away from the 2015 presidential race.
“By 2015, President Jonathan would have served our nation for six solid years.
“This, surely, is enough time for him to achieve whatever he is capable of doing for Nigeria.
“What else is he looking for that is making him desperate to participate in the 2015 presidential election despite warnings that doing so may spark a chain of events capable of culminating into the country’s disintegration, thereby bringing to pass the predictions of Lord Lugard that Nigeria as a nation by 2014 maybe history, which was later confirmed by the USA Think-Tank that Nigeria may disintegrate by 2015.
“Apart from all these, should President Jonathan contest and win by 2015 it means he would have spent ten years in office and will be sworn in three times as the President of Nigeria against the Provisions of the country’s constitution.
“We wish to appeal to Mr. President to abandon this ill-advised move and save our nation from catastrophe.