A former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has said that President Goodluck Jonathan will contest the 2015 presidential election and that nobody can stop him.
He said there was no way another four years of Jonathan’s Presidency would bring an end to the country, adding that all those who had ruled the country before spent two terms.
Clark stated this in Abuja on Friday while playing host to a delegation of Northern Women in Politics under the aegis of “Northern Women Mass Movement for President Jonathan 2015 Ambition.”
He said, “Jonathan will contest in 2015 because of two things; one, he is qualified to do so under the law and secondly, he has performed well to the extent that those who voted him in 2011 are willing to do so again.
“Nobody has a right to stop him from contesting. Every President who have ruled this nation spent two terms. We voted for Alhaji Shehu Shagari as President in 1979 and 1983 respectively.
“Everybody in this country is created equal, no matter the tribe, gender or background as long as such person is a Nigerian and educated.”
He said he was sorry for the Northern Elders Forum who he claimed had been accusing the President of neglecting their region.
Clark added that it was wrong to accuse the President of developing his region, adding that he(Jonathan) even resisted pressure to appoint the Inspector General of Police from his region.
He noted that for the first time in the history of the nation, two Inspectors-General of Police were appointed consecutively from the north.
Clark said, “When people who are close to Jonathan advised him to appoint someone from the South South as IGP, he said no. This is because, he is not sentimental.
“He appointed two Head of Service consecutively who are from the North. He created 10 new federal universities in the Northern region.
“It is a feat that has not been achieved by anybody. He built al-majiri schools in the North, rail system has been resuscitated.
“Some people say Jonathan is parochial that he is developing his own people. We say no because those of us in the South-South are even complaining.”
Speaking on the abducted Chibok school girls, Clark stated that the girls would come back to join their parents and other women to build the nation soon.
“If President have used force to free the girls, some of them would have died, and the same people will still shout that Jonathan have killed our girls. Those girls will come back to join us to build the nation,” he added.
Earlier, the leaders of the delegate, Halima Tukur from Kebbi state and a former Deputy Governor of Plateau Sate, Mrs. Paulen Tellen had told Clark that they were on a visit to show the solidarity and support of all Northern women to the 2015 ambition of the President.
They therefore promised their support and commitment to the actualization of having Jonathan back as the President for the next four years.
Source: Punch
