Don’t abandon Jonathan, Daniel begs Obasanjo

A former Governor of Ogun State,
Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has begged
former President Olusegun
Obasanjo not to abandon President
Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the
February 14 presidential election.
Daniel’s plea came less than 24
hours after Obasanjo openly
declared support for the re-
election of Ogun State Governor,
Ibikunle Amosun, who is a member
of the opposition All Progressives
Congress.
Daniel, while addressing members
of the Peoples Democratic Party at
the inauguration of the Goodluck/
Sambo Independent Support Team
in Lagos on Saturday, said Obasanjo
gave the people of the South-South
region a sense of belonging by
ensuring that Jonathan emerged as
vice-president in 2007 and as
President in 2011.
He, therefore, begged Obasanjo to
finish what he started by ensuring
that Jonathan completes his second
term as President.
Daniel said, “Obasanjo should finish
the job he started in 2011 because a
job that is half-done is not done at
all. It is the height of injustice for
Jonathan and the South-South
people not to be allowed to do a
second-term. We, the Yoruba
people are saying that for the
reason of equity, Jonathan should
be allowed for a second term and
after that, power can shift to the
North.”
Meanwhile, the Presidency on
Saturday said President Goodluck
Jonathan was ready at all times to
appease former President
Olusegun Obasanjo.
It also agreed with the ex-
President that candidates in the
forthcoming general elections
should be judged by their
performance.
The Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Public Affairs, Dr.
Doyin Okupe, said this in an
interview with SUNDAY PUNCH.
Okupe was reacting to a statement
credited to Obasanjo that
performance, as against party
loyalty, should be the overriding
factor in voting for candidates in
the February elections.
Okupe said Obasanjo was correct in
his submission, which he described
as statesman-like.
He said, “Obasanjo is right. I want
Nigerians to vote for the next
President based on performance.
Let Buhari tell us his performance
and Goodluck Jonathan should tell
us his performance.
“Obasanjo is correct; there is
nothing wrong with that. That is
very statesman-like of him.
“I want my party’s candidates to
win but this election is about
performance. Luckily, Buhari has
been a Head of State before, it does
not matter how long he was in
government. He was in
government for 20 months; Murtala
Muhammed was in government for
six months and he became a hero.
“It is not an excuse that 20 months
is not enough. In 20 months, Buhari
showed clear attributes of
indolence and incompetence. He
did not add any value to the nation.
He did not achieve anything. All he
did was to be hard and harsh on
people. He was busy harassing
southerners like Awolowo and
Ajasin.
“If you put that side-by-side with
the performance of Jonathan, he
has touched everything he met. All
24 airports have been refurbished.
He has brought railway back to life.
There is substantial achievement in
power. We can only go forward, we
can’t come back.”
When asked whether the President
was still ready to mend fence with
Obasanjo, the presidential aide said
Jonathan had tremendous respect
for the ex-President.
“This President is a liberal-minded
President and he has a lot of
respect for Obasanjo. He has never
hidden that. He believes that
Obasanjo is his political father, no
matter whether they have
disagreements or not.
“The President is ready at all times
to make peace and appease the
elderly gentleman,” Okupe said.
Similarly, the national leadership of
the Peoples Democratic Party has
said it will not join issues with
Obasanjo.
National Publicity Secretary of the
party, Prof. Wale Oladipo, stated
this in a telephone interview with
our correspondent in Abuja on
Saturday.
He said, “Baba (Obasanjo) remains
our leader and therefore we won’t
join issues with him. We will
continue to work with him and
other leaders of our party in Ogun
State and Nigeria to achieve
success.
“I can however assure you that
Gboyega Isiaka is poised to win the
governorship election in the state
with the support of other members
of our party in the state like the
Minister of Agriculture, Dr.
Akinwumi Adesina.”

uncle sege pls noe abandon our clueless presido ooo