Nigeria will disappoint doomsday prophets in 2015, says Jonathan

Nigeria will disappoint doomsday prophets in 2015, says Jonathan

Monday, August 11, 2014 10:49 pm


 

Jonathan with religious leaders at Interfaith Conference

Jonathan with religious leaders at Interfaith Conference

Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan said  the prediction of doom for the country concerning the 2015 elections, will not come to pass. 

Rather, the President said the country will come out of the election stronger once the election is seen to be  transparent, free and fair election as he had promised. 

Jonathan said Nigerians want to vote, they want their votes to count, they don’t want to be molested and they don’t want ballot boxes to be hijacked by criminals.

“If they are convinced that the process is free, fair and credible, they have no reason to be angry. Nobody can fight against one man, one vote, one woman one vote, one youth one vote,” said the President. 

He added that government will make sure that Nigerians are not killed during and after elections by deploying adequate number of security men. 

The President also chided those complaining about heavy deployment of security forces for recent elections, especially the opposition and some activist groups while recalling the killings and destruction that greeted the 2011 elections, including the killing of 10 youth corps members in Bauchi State. 

He added that government will never allow such situation to re-occur. 

He added that the defeat of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in recent elections in the country attested to his commitment to free and fair polls in the country.

“I am from the PDP, the ruling party, but I don’t use that strength to make sure that PDP must win by all means. PDP has lost elections in Edo State, we lost in Anambra State, we lost election in Ondo State, of course only two days back, we lost in Osun.

“But we know and we are saying that this country must change.

“The kind of election we had in the 1960s that led to the crisis in the West that threatened the sovereignty of this country, cannot come up again.

“The kind of elections we had during the Second Republic where some people won elections as governors and ran away from their states cannot come up again.

“Nigerians must vote and our votes must count. If I was interested in manipulating elections, my party would not be losing all these governorship elections,” said the President.

Jonathan spoke in Abuja today at a conference of Interfaith Initiative.


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