Jonathan in Secret Meeting With Tinubu, Others

Posted by admin Latest Politics Monday, April 11th, 2011

• Visits Suleja bomb blast victims

President Goodluck Jonathan jetted to Lagos last night as part of his last-minute moves to persuade the teeming South-West voters to support his presidential ambition in this Saturday’s presidential poll. LEADERSHIP gathered last night that Jonathan rushed to Lagos after visiting the Suleja bomb blast victims. The president was said to have met with some influential South-West political and youth leaders.

According to a source at the meeting last night, “We see President Goodluck Jonathan as a sincere and honest person. Those who thought he was merely bluffing when he said nobody should rig for him must be convinced now that we have a president who believes in fair play and transparency.

“We now believe that Nigeria’s journey to greatness has begun. And, come Saturday, we shall vote for Jonathan. He is leading a new Nigeria where merit is the name of the game.”

It was also gathered that very senior intelligence officials are meeting with the top hierarchy of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to work out an understanding with the party for the presidential election.

Members of a prominent family involved in movies and show business have also been meeting with the top hierarchy of the ACN on the same purpose.

At the meeting with the youth group, he called on them to lead the fight for the election of credible leaders that would lead the country out of the woods.

The president also asked them to be at the vanguard of the quest to clean up the polity and enthrone responsive leadership in the country.

“You should be the vanguard to impress on the people that we must no longer be slaves to money politics,” President Jonathan said, admonishing them to persuade their friends not to sell their conscience.

He asked the leaders of over 70 youth groups that attended the consultative meeting to be part of the ongoing effort to rebuild Nigeria and set it on the path of renewal by guiding other Nigerians to make the right choices in the general elections.

“We must elect people who can take us forward,” he said.

The president reminded the youth leaders that, only a while ago, the country was at par with the Asian Tigers and needed to catch up fast with the rest of the developed world.

He said: “We must elect leaders who will take us there, sustain good governance, transform Nigeria, and set the stage for the future.”

President Jonathan, who thanked the youth leaders for coming at short notice, reiterated his pledge to create an environment that would improve the lot of young people.

“Our commitment is to work with the youth to ensure that Nigerians are proud everywhere,” he said, adding that last Saturday’s election was a manifestation of the possibility that Nigerians could do things right.

“We will surely get it right,” he said even as he reassured them of his full commitment to end youth unemployment and transform the country.

In their responses, the youth leaders praised the president for his humility and his campaign strategy that emphasised wide consultations with major stakeholders in the polity.

“We are humbled by your consultation with us and could only wish you well in your effort to turn our country around,” said Francis Abayomi, co-ordinator, South-West Think-Thank on Democratic Governance.

Also speaking, Comrade Ibuchukwu Ezike, executive director of the Civil Liberties Organisation, commended President Jonathan for his efforts to ensure that credible elections hold but asked the president to investigate the allegation of underage voting in some parts of the country.

President Jonathan, who was accompanied by his chief of staff, Chief Mike Ogiadomhe, and some senior aides thanked the youth leaders for their contributions and promised to continue to work with them in the task of rebuilding and transforming the country.

President Jonathan visited victims of last Friday’s Suleja, Niger State, bomb blast at the Gwagwalada Specialist hospital yesterday and vowed that those behind the dastardly act would be brought to book.

He said that, already, various security agencies had intensified efforts to track down all those involved in the unfortunate incident which claimed the lives of 13 Nigerians.

“Having inspected this hospital, I have seen these young people who are serving their nation and got cut off in this dastardly act by some anti-social elements, one feels sad.

“These are young people at the prime of their life, the hope and future of Nigeria. For anybody to target the youth, he is targeting the country and he does not mean well for the nation.

“Well, in all societies we have such people. But as a government we will make sure that we look out for them. God willing, we will get them, if not all, some of them and they will face the law.’’

The president pledged that government would settle all medical expenses of the victims as well as assist the families of those that lost their lives to the incident.wp_posts