As president declares for re-election…Jonathan silent on Sambo’s fate…vows to defeat insurgency, corruption

Jonathan’s declaration is a formality, as he has already obtained the PDP presidential nomination forms and the ruling party has since adopted him as sole candidate.But the president, in his speech that lasted for about 39 minutes, failed to say if he has decided to run along with Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo. “After seeking the […]

Jonathan’s declaration is a formality, as he has already obtained the PDP presidential nomination forms and the ruling party has since adopted him as sole candidate.
But the president, in his speech that lasted for about 39 minutes, failed to say if he has decided to run along with Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo.
 “After seeking the face of God with my family and after listening to the calls of our people nationwide to run, I Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, I have accepted to present myself for 2015 election,” the president told thousands of supporters at a colourful ceremony at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
Sambo, who was at the declaration ceremony along with his wife Amina, made the introductory remarks to usher the president to the podium, and urged Jonathan to declare his re-election bid. He said also having worked closely with the president, he is satisfied with his transformation agenda.
When he mounted the podium, Jonathan mentioned Sambo in the protocol roll call and later on when he made reference to a committee the vice president chairs. But he did not say if Sambo will be his vice presidential candidate.
Instead, he spoke more on the achievements of his administration and his plans if re-elected.
Expectations were high that as Jonathan has already been chosen as the sole candidate of the PDP, he would name his running mate during the declaration ceremony.
The failure to name Sambo is likely to heighten tension in the VP’s camp and spur other potential candidates to keep working towards securing the position.
Speculations became rife on Sambo’s fate when PDP avoided naming him as VP candidate at the time Jonathan was endorsed for re-election. The party’s leadership later prevaricated, at one point saying Sambo was part of the party’s “winning team”.
The frontline VP contenders in the PDP are Governors Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa). None of them has publicly spoken on the matter.
Yet none of the three governors, who are in their second terms, has picked nomination form for any other position even though nearly all their other counterparts in PDP are running for Senate elections.
Political watchers interpret this to mean that the three are still hopeful of supplanting Sambo for the vice presidential slot.
‘Dark cloud on our nation’
During his speech at the declaration ceremony, President Jonathan explained his decision to seek re-election, saying it was in order to continue to tackle the various challenges facing the country.
“History has shown that the path of honour of a true leader is not to walk away from his people in the face of challenges. We must stand together in adversary and overcome the threat to our development. We must defend our future for the growth of our children,” he said.
Jonathan said his government was deploying special forces to fight Boko Haram in the North-East in order to contain their “senseless” attacks.
“Our stewardship has not been without challenges. We have had to deal with the wave of insurgency that has swept through some parts of our dear country,” he said.
“Only yesterday, Government Science Secondary School in Yobe State was bombed by insurgents, killing our promising young children who were seeking education to build the country and support their parents.
“Many Nigerians have lost their lives and property to these mindless killings…. Clearly, this has cast a dark cloud on our nation but we will surely win the war against terror. A number of young men and women have been kidnapped by these criminal elements including our daughters from Chibok. We will free our daughters and defeat terror.
“We are equipping the armed forces and deploying special forces to engage the terrorists and end this senseless war. We must protect our country. We must save our people. I will do everything humanly possible to end this criminal violence in our nation.”
Speaking on his achievements in office, Jonathan pledged that Nigeria would not go back to the old era “where our rails were not working, where we were importing food, where women and youths were deprived of holding political offices.”
He said he was convinced that he had so far served his part with Nigerians, adding that it was now the time “to look into the future”.
“But to take our country to the next level, there is still more work to be done”, he added. “We must continue to hold the tempo all high in our country.”
Jonathan said his administration would sanitise and improve the integrity of the electoral process adding that no personal opinion or views expressed by citizens would land them into jail or drive them into exile.
“No Nigerian has been driven to exile. No one and I repeat, no one will be driven to exile,” he said.
“Let me reaffirm that under Jonathan Presidency, your views, no matter how freely expressed, will not send you to prison or to exile.”
The president said he remained committed to the fighting corruption.
He said the government had saved about N162 billion from weeding out 56,000 ghost workers from the civil service.
He added that he had directed the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to fish out the perpetrators.
Earlier, Vice President Sambo said Jonathan had been a blessing to Nigeria in the last four years.
Sambo said the transformation agenda of the Jonathan administration was “booming” in all the sectors of the economy.
Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Apkabio, who led his colleagues to the podium, asked Jonathan not to be intimidated, saying those backing him outnumbered those against him.
Akpabio said the party would have 29 or 30 governors in 2015, saying the PDP could not afford to hand over the country to her enemies.
He accused the opposition of sponsoring instability in the country.
“The opposition has nothing to offer the country. The opposition is sponsoring instability in Nigeria,” Akpabio said.
Senate President David Mark also said Jonathan deserved another term because he had demonstrated that he was trusted and reliable.
Mark said the PDP caucus in the National Assembly decided to support the president’s re-election bid so that all the projects he had embarked upon “would see the light of the day.”
PDP governors, senators, House of Representatives members and other party leaders were among dignitaries at the event, which held under tight security.
There was some distraction during President Jonathan’s speech as Nigerian Air Force and police helicopters flew over the venue of the event.
A police helicopter nearly hit an electric pole and a canopy while a man in the helicopter was seen taking pictures and video-taping what was happening. There was a brief apprehension over the incident.
Jonathan’s declaration yesterday came after months of prevarication. The president had delayed the announcement several times, reportedly because of the uncertainty over a court case challenging his eligibility.
Jonathan has also faced moral questions because of his statements in the run up to the 2011 elections that he would not to seek another term afterwards.