Senators, Reps Okay Jonathan For President
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- Category: Politics
- Published on Saturday, 11 September 2010 11:48
- Written by Saturday Tribune
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All is now set for the formal declaration of intent by President Goodluck Jonathan to run the 2011 presidential election on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as series of activities are being scheduled to herald the event.
Saturday Tribune can report that more of National Assembly members are increasingly enlisting in arrangements to facilitate a peaceful declaration by Jonathan next Saturday amid plans by them to float an umbrella platform for all the Jonathan Support Groups.
The umbrella platform, known as Goodluck/ Namadi Global Group 2011, boasts of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, as grand patron, with Senator Emmanuel Paulker as the convener.
It also boasts of support from Senator Iyabo Obasanjo, Senator Annie Okonkwo, Honourable Bala Kaoje, former Minister of Sports and a good number of House of Representatives members.
The Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Abubakar, is said to be co-ordinating members of the cabinet and other top government functionaries for support for the president as days of his declaration draw near, just as he is reportedly planning to host the Pro-Jonathan Global Group on its activities.
The Goodluck/Namadi Global Group is also peopled by a host of Nigerians in the Diaspora led by Joejim Alaboso, as the representatives are said to have been thronging the country since the past two weeks to feature in the declaration by Jonathan.
The global campaign co-ordinator for the group, in a chat with Saturday Tribune, said the Diaspora members had shown commitments to the cause of ensuring that Jonathan remained in power in 2011 by donating campaign materials, including cars, T-shirts and other souvenirs bearing the picture of Jonathan and Sambo, to aid the campaign.
The group has, however, enjoined all Jonathan support groups nationwide to pull ideas and resources together for the purpose of ensuring success of their common endeavour, and to ultimately launch a grand campaign strategies for Jonathan to cling the PDP presidential ticket through the party’s primaries, the date of which would be announced early next week.
Alaboso said members of his group had secured the co-operation of key pro-Jonathan groups to hold a summit in Abuja a day before the formal declaration of President Jonathan, as he affirmed that all preparations by members were geared towards ensuring a hitch-free contest.
In another development, some political parties which recently adopted Jonathan for 2011 presidential election came under attack weekend amid reports that they took the action because of pecuniary interest.
The National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, had queried reason behind resolve by the opposition parties, which it said had no visible political structure, to adopt Jonathan for presidential election for which he said they ought to present their own candidates.
The chairman said what transpired between Jonathan and the 46 political parties amounted to a comedy of the year “fit for the Nollywood,” adding that the parties embraced Jonathan only for pecuniary interest they had in mind, and not because they believed in the president.
The Labour Party boss said: “Nigerians find the circus show of 46 parties (actually 23 parties, adopting President Goodluck Jonathan as their consensus presidential candidate for 2011 as a comedy of the year fit for the Nollywood.
Labour party said Jonathan was ill-advised to be involved in a romance with floating political parties, stressing that he had not and may never gain any political mileage by that.
This is coming as more ex-militant leaders who have started making Abuja a base continued to flash red card to President Jonathan whom they said are now on his own vowing never to quest after him anymore.
Ex-leaders of two of the most prominent militant groups accused Jonathan and his aides of blocking access to him, contrary to initial agreement they had with him.
The ex-militant top shots, who spoke with Saturday Tribune at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, where they held meetings with top politicians, disclosed that repeated efforts they had made, most especially through Niger Delta ministers known to be close to him, met with failures.
