BY HENRY UMORU
 ABUJA—AHEAD of 2015 Presidential election, former 
Federal Commissioner for Information and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark,
 yesterday, reiterated that nobody in Nigeria can stop President 
Goodluck Jonathan from contesting.
The
 elder statesman who noted that Nigeria belongs to all and no tribe can 
boast of its superiority over others, stressed that it was not 
speculation that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will adopt 
President Jonathan as its sole candidate.
Speaking when he  
received a delegation of second Republic House of Representatives 
members who paid him a visit at his Asokoro residence in Abuja, Chief 
Clark maintained that Nigerian citizens were equal and can aspire to the
 highest office in this country, adding that the person should remain in
 office in line with the Constitution of the country.
According to
 him, in civilised democracies where the minority and majority ethnic 
groups exist, it has never been the prerogative of the majority ethnic 
group to lord it over the minorities.
He said: “For instance, in 
Great Britain from whom we got our independence, there are the English, 
the Welsh and the Scottish. The English are the majority, followed by 
the Scottish and then the Welsh. Each of these ethnic groups has 
produced the Prime Minister of Great Britain based on the quality of the
 candidate. In fact, in recent times the Scottish has come to produce 
more Prime Ministers than the English who are the majority.”
Chief 
 Clark who noted that it was the constitutional right of President 
Jonathan to contest for re-election in 2015, said,  “The Constitution 
provided for two terms. In 1979, Shehu Shagari from the North was 
president until 1983 when he got his second term but Buhari for reasons 
best known to them, they thought that at the end of his second ruling he
 will hand over to Ekwueme or to Akinloye. They then staged a coup and 
drove him (Shagari) away and imprisoned all the politicians. Who took 
over? Another Northerner.
“ The 1999 Constitution of the Federal 
Republic of Nigeria provides for two tenures of four years each after 
two democratically conducted elections. Apart from the illegality of the
 purported agreement with the northern state governors, such a mindset 
violates the letter and spirit of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal 
Republic of Nigeria as amended. There is no speculation that the PDP is 
planning to impose President Jonathan as the sole candidate of the party
 in the upcoming convention.
“The practice in democratic 
presidential system of government is that an incumbent president remains
 the sole candidate of a political party at the party’s convention, if 
he or she is willing to contest for a second term in office. This is the
 practice in the United States of America from where Nigeria copied her 
own model of the presidential system of government.
“When the 
American type of presidential system was adopted in Nigeria in 
1978/1979, former President Shehu Shagari was the sole candidate of the 
National Party of Nigeria, NPN, when he chose to run for a second tenure
 in the 1983 Presidential election. Or do you think there was dearth of 
qualified candidates in that era? Note that in the words of Dr. K. O. 
Mbadiwe, ‘the NPN had many men of timber and calibre who were ready to 
contest the presidential primaries if Alhaji Shehu Shagari had not 
indicated his intention to contest.’
“The list is endless. In 
2003, it was only through the instigation of some governors led by Chief
 James Onanefe Ibori who were disappointed that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar 
stepped down for his boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that Dr. Alex Ekwueme
 was persuaded to contest the presidential primaries against the party’s
 decision. However, he was defeated by President Obasanjo who had the 
party’s blessings.
“To lend credence to the fact that a sitting 
president is entitled to a second term, the ambitious and unpatriotic 
governors and some Northern conservative politicians confirmed this 
constitutional provision by saying that it was the second term of the 
late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua that the North wanted to complete in 
2011. In other words, late President Yar’Adua was entitled to eight 
years in office but Dr. Jonathan is entitled to only a single term 
contrary to the 1999 Constitution. Is that not double standard? What a 
shame!
He, therefore, called on Nigerians to support President 
Jonathan and his transformation agenda which he said was for the 
interest of the country.
Leader of the delegation, Umar Lawan said
 they came to celebrate with Clark on his 86 birthday and express the 
willingness of his members to support Jonathan’s re-election in 2015 
giving his outstanding achievements in office.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Labels
- World News (33)
- US News (25)
- Middle East News (19)
- Africa News (14)
- Asia News (5)
- China News (5)
- Israel (5)
- Middle east report (5)
- Egypt (4)
- Opinion (4)
- Al-qaida (3)
- Blogs (3)
- Commentaries (3)
- Iran's president Rouhani (3)
- Muslims brotherhood (3)
- Reports (3)
- Sports (3)
- Syria (3)
- Tragedy (3)
- America (2)
- Celebrities (2)
- European News (2)
- Gists (2)
- Government shutdown (2)
- Kenya (2)
- Kenya Mall Attack (2)
- Muslims (2)
- New Orleans (2)
- Nigeria (2)
- Religion news (2)
- politics (2)
- A U.N. report released Monday confirmed that chemical weapons were used in the attack but did not ascribe blame. (1)
- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (1)
- Bangladesh (1)
- Bashar al-Assad Regime (1)
- Black Hawk Down (1)
- Bombings (1)
- Boston (1)
- Canadian News (1)
- Castilla-La Mancha (1)
- Chelsea Fc (1)
- Conflicts (1)
- Daniel Sturridge (1)
- Dublin (1)
- Egypt Troops Surround Islamist Stronghold by Cairo (1)
- England Squad (1)
- Entertainments (1)
- European (1)
- Former Heavyweight Champion Ken Norton Dies (1)
- German News (1)
- Gulf of Mexico (1)
- Investigative (1)
- Iran's president Rouhani: We will never develop nuclear weapons (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Islamabad (1)
- Italy (1)
- Jerusalem (1)
- Largest Hornets (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Madagascar (1)
- Malaysian Prime Minister (1)
- Man utd. (1)
- Michael Jackson Death (1)
- Michael Jackson Trial Case (1)
- NC Church (1)
- New York (1)
- Nigeria importation (1)
- North Korea (1)
- Obama Administration (1)
- Pakistan (1)
- Palestinian massacre a grim reminder to Syrian refugees flooding Lebanon (1)
- Plane Crash (1)
- Police Shooting (1)
- Pope Francis Visit (1)
- Premier League - Match facts: Newcastle United v Hull City (1)
- Republicans Renew Benghazi Attack Criticism in U.S House (1)
- Rooney (1)
- Shutdown Ruins Vacations (1)
- Somalia (1)
- Sydney Harbor (1)
- Syrian gas attack spurring foreign jihadists: French judge (1)
- U.N Security Council (1)
- United Nations (1)
- Us Shutdown (1)
- Vietnam (1)
- Washington: A member of Al Qaeda who allegedly met with Osama bin Laden in 2001 (1)
- Watertown Man (1)
- central Spanish (1)
- football (1)
- libya (1)
- militants (1)
- northern Alabama (1)
- saudi (1)
- turkey (1)
 
 
No comments:
Post a Comment