Jonathan's footsoldiers take campaign to NBA convention
- Details
- Category: Politics
- Published on Monday, 23 August 2010 04:45
- Written by Nigerian Tribune
- Hits: 903
We reliably gathered on Sunday that the move was part of the strategies adopted by the pro-Jonathan group to woo and win the support of many of the professional bodies ahead of the next general election.
The source further disclosed that Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, who is also a lawyer, would lead other pro-Jonathan lawyers to the venue of the NBA convention.
“Chief Clark, a leading light among the Ijaws, and a prominent leader in the South-South, who is also a lawyer, will be leading some other President Jonathan’s foot soldiers to the convention to mobilise support for him.
“Apart from the NBA, it is expected that some of the footsoldiers, who are spread and can be found in many other professional bodies in the country, would be moving into such bodies, including the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), among others, for the same purpose,” the source said.
Besides the quest to drum up support for a Jonathan presidency in 2011, the source further disclosed that the president was not looking back in his quest for credibility as the incumbent, adding that this informed his choice of federal appointments in recent times.
“The recent appointment of Professor (Mrs.) Kassey Garba of the University of Ibadan as the president’s Chief Economic Adviser is an indication that President Jonathan wants to have a credible government in the country.
“Also, the appointment of Professor Attahiru Jega, a leading light in the academic community, as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is an indication that the president is trying to curry favour with ASUU, a professional body which he belonged to before becoming a politician,” the source said.
He also told the Nigerian Tribune that the race towards the 2011 presidential election should not be left to politicians alone, adding that the various professional bodies across the country must come out of their cocoons in the quest to have credible, free and fair elections which he said the president was championing.
“Unlike what obtained in the past, when elections and the democratic process were left to the politicians, President Jonathan is irrevocably committed to drawing out experts in various fields of endeavour to support the enthronement of the culture of free and fair elections.
“The president would like to draw the support of bodies such as NBA, NMA, ASUU, the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) and several others, not only for his government, but also for the sustenance of democratic ethos which he is championing,” he added.
