2015: Igbo must be president

Former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu yesterday declared that the Igbo will not compromise for any other position other than the post of the President in 2015. Fielding questions from newsmen shortly after he delivered a lecture on “Leadership: Key factor to a better Nigeria” at the Professor David Ijalaiye annual lecture series organized by the Equity Chambers of the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile Ife, Dr. Kalu stated that the Igbo will not settle for any other position.

 His words “In 2015 what will happen is that the Igbo will vote for the Igbo, Yoruba for Yoruba and Hausa vote for Hausa. 

Then, we will all come to Abuja to discuss and determine who should be Nigerian President.” “Anybody who thinks that there is going to be a straight ballot thing to produce the President in 2015 is only fooling himself ,” he added. 

 The former presidential candidate of the Progressive Peoples Alliance said although he was currently not in any political party he will continue to fight against injustice and all that is in the interest of the good people of the country. 

 In his lecture, Dr Kalu recalled that since 1967 when the military came into governance in the country, Nigeria had not been able to produce any good leader, as according to him most of them are either not prepared for the office or reluctant to take over the leadership of the country.

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2015: I’m yet to decide –Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has told an Abuja High Court that talks about his presidential ambition for 2015 existed only in the realm of speculation as he has not declared interest or discussed it with anybody. The President said he is currently running his first term of four years as provided by the 1999 Constitution. He was responding to a suit seeking to stop him from contesting for the 2015 presidential election by a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Cyracus Njoku. The President is of PDP. 

In his affidavit filed by his lawyer, Mr. Are Okeaya-Ineh (SAN), Jonathan stated that he had not indicated or announced anywhere that he would be contesting for the presidential election in 2015. In the suit pending before Justice Muddier Onion, the plaintiff is seeking to stop Jonathan from contesting the 2015 presidential race on the grounds that he is already serving his second term. 

The suit was a fall-out of the declaration by the President last month that he is serving his first term. He also said the President cannot swear to an oath thrice in the light of Section 137(1) (b) of the Constitution. Other respondents are the PDP (second respondent), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the third respondent. 

 However, in a 15-paragraph counter-affidavit deposed to by Mr. Osaka Okeaya-Inneh, a legal practitioner in the law firm of Mr Are Okeaya-Inneh (SAN), Jonathan described the suit as frivolous and vexatious, failing to disclose reasonable cause of action. Mr. Okeaya-Inneh said: 

“I am a counsel in the law firm of Are Okeaya-Inneh and Co., counsel to the first defendant in this suit, by virtue of which I am conversant with the facts of this case, I have the consent and authority of the first defendant/respondent to depose to this affidavit “When my law firm was briefed by the first defendant to represent him in this action, I, together with Mr Matthew Aikhionbare (Senior Special Assistant to the President) and Dr. Reuben Abati (Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President) meticulously went through the 11-paragraph affidavit of the plaintiff in support of his originating summons. 

“The first defendant is currently doing his first term of four years in office as the president of Nigeria as provided by the 1999 Constitution as amended. ‘The first defendant’s status and position are formidable and backed by the 1999 Constitution. ‘The Constitution of Nigeria only makes provisions for a president to contest for not more than two terms of four years each. 

‘The Constitution recognizes the Executive President’s tenure of office to be four years.“I was informed by Dr Reuben Abati on April 4, 2012 at about 5.30 pm in his office and I verily believe that the first defendant has not indicated or announced anywhere whether in words or in writing that he will contest for the presidential election to be conducted in 2015.‘The late President Umaru Yar’Adua contested and won the presidential election conducted in 2007 for a one term of four years.

 He was the president from May 29, 2007 until sometime in May 2010 when he passed on. Yar’Adua’s four years was to end in 2011”, he said. Jonathan averred further that on May 6, 2010, he was sworn in as the president after the demise of President Yar’Adua, thereby completing Yar’Adua’s 12 months of the four-year tenure.

 He declared once more that this is the first time he is coming to power as the president of Nigeria through a conducted election wherein he was voted as the presidential candidate of his party, PDP. The President told the court that the plaintiff did not attach copies of his recent Tax Clearance Certificate from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and his PDP membership card as proof of who he claims to be. Consequently, he asked the court to discountenance the suit as it was meant to make the court labour in futility because the suit is purely an academic exercise. 

 The plaintiff, however, through his counsel, Mr. Oscars Ugochukwu, raised two questions for determination by the court. They are:‘Whether Section 135(2) of the Constitution which specifies a period of four years in Office for the President is only available or applicable to a person elected on the basis of an actual election or includes one in which a person assumes the position of President by operation of law as in the case of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan; and ‘Whether Section 137(1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution which provides that a person shall not be qualified for election to the Office of President if he had been elected to such office at any two previous elections applies to the first defendant who first took an oath of office as substantive President on May 6, 2010 and took a second oath of office as President on May 29, last year’.

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Jonathan’ll hand over to Igbo –Ezeife

As power brokers across the country make subtle moves ahead of the 2015 presidential election, former governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, has said President Goodluck Jonathan would hand over to a candidate from the South East zone. 

 This conclusion came even as he dismissed the clamour to recapture power by the North, saying that the ethnic bloc should forget their ambition for now until the South East enjoys its share of the nation’s presidential power equation. He revealed that though the South East at no point reached an agreement with Jonathan on the succession issue, but the understanding between the President and Ndigbo is that one of their own should succeed him. 

 Speaking with Sunday Sun on phone, he said people of the zone had always made it clear to Jonathan that a candidate from the zone would succeed him when he leaves office. According to him, the understanding is that by the time Jonathan had exhausted his mandate, he would support the idea of an Igbo man becoming the next president of Nigeria. 

 “At every opportunity with Jonathan, Ndigbo have made it clear that anyt ime he completes his constitutionally guaranteed tenure, it would now be the turn of the South East,” he said. He, however, noted that the South East was not in a hurry to see Jonathan out of power, but would continue to support him until he completes his tenure.“I repeat what I said before, that the Igbo would succeed President Jonathan whenever he leaves office, but we are not in a hurry to hound him out of office. “We have given Jonathan our total support, but we have always made it clear that after his tenure, it would now be the turn of the South East,” he said. 

The former governor also noted that the president has the constitutional right to run for a second term and recalled that some of his predecessors enjoyed similar opportunities in office. He said apart from the South East, all other geo-political zones have ruled Nigeria, lamenting that the short tenure of Gen Aguiyi Ironsi was mired in violence. “The North should forget the presidency until the South East zone has enjoyed its turn. Out of the over 50 years of Nigeria’s independence, the North ruled for about 38 years.

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