The President spoke at the opening mass for the plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria
President Goodluck Jonathan has dissociated himself from the campaign for the institution of an Interim National Government in the country.
Jonathan said the insinuation is “treasonable”.
He also reminded Nigerians that the idea of an ING is alien to the 1999 Constitution, as amended, adding that ECOWAS will not accept that should the military toy with it.
The President, who spoke at the opening mass for the plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral, Garki, Abuja, therefore warned those linking him with such plan to beware that it is treasonable.
He also assured Nigerians and the international community that elections will hold on the rescheduled dates of March 28 and April 11 as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
His words: “There is no way Goodluck Jonathan elected by people with clear mandate will now go and head an interim government.
“The only interim government anybody can constitute is that of the military government, which of course will not be accepted.
“ECOWAS, AU, UN won’t accept it.
“And Nigeria will not be a pariah state.
“Clearly, the insinuation of interim government to me is treasonable.
“Elections will be conducted as scheduled by INEC.”
According to the President, the election postponement was a blessing in disguise, saying the casualty figure in the February 14 Gombe State attack would have been worse if the election went ahead
He said: “Look at what happened in Gombe on February 14th, if the elections had been held, the casualty figure after that attack in Gombe would have been great.
“It is better for us to conduct elections that will not be contested, elections that are credible, free and fair.
“We believe no criminal element can come and prevent us from conducting our elections
“I will not do anything because of personal interest that would jeopardize the interest of this nation.”
President Jonathan described the theme of the conference as unique, noting that even the bible acknowledges that if the foundation is not right, the righteous cannot do much.
In his sermon, the Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, advised President Jonathan to warn his aides and supporters to desist from insinuating that elections will not hold.
According to Onaiyekan: “Good families make a good nation.
“We can go even further to state that a good nation should be a family of families.
“The diversity of our nation is well known.
“But that is no reason why we cannot see ourselves as belonging to the same national family.
“Politics is very much in the air.
“It is a notable and sacred task meant to serve the common good of the family that is the nation.
“The hot competition between political parties should not make them forget the common objectives that everyone should be pursuing: justice, peace, prosperity, harmony, good order, building a nation we can all be proud of, etc.
“The differences are in strategies and priorities.
“These are what should be presented to us, positively and transparently, to guide our free choice at elections.
“There should therefore not be room for negative campaigns.
“Personal insults and caricatures should give way to rational discussion of issues that concern us all.
“Truth must be sacrosanct even in politics.
“Lies, deceit, calumnies cannot move us forward.
“They are the hallmarks of the bad politics, which have not allowed us achieve the high level that we deserve as a nation.
“These are what builds tensions, heats up the polity, spreads dangerous rumours and cause deep distrust among rival political groups.
“All this is not in the interest of our people.”
Also, Onaiyekan enjoined the clergy men not to make reckless remarks and political utterances liable to comprise their sacred role.
Jonathan said the insinuation is “treasonable”.
He also reminded Nigerians that the idea of an ING is alien to the 1999 Constitution, as amended, adding that ECOWAS will not accept that should the military toy with it.
The President, who spoke at the opening mass for the plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral, Garki, Abuja, therefore warned those linking him with such plan to beware that it is treasonable.
He also assured Nigerians and the international community that elections will hold on the rescheduled dates of March 28 and April 11 as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
His words: “There is no way Goodluck Jonathan elected by people with clear mandate will now go and head an interim government.
“The only interim government anybody can constitute is that of the military government, which of course will not be accepted.
“ECOWAS, AU, UN won’t accept it.
“And Nigeria will not be a pariah state.
“Clearly, the insinuation of interim government to me is treasonable.
“Elections will be conducted as scheduled by INEC.”
According to the President, the election postponement was a blessing in disguise, saying the casualty figure in the February 14 Gombe State attack would have been worse if the election went ahead
He said: “Look at what happened in Gombe on February 14th, if the elections had been held, the casualty figure after that attack in Gombe would have been great.
“It is better for us to conduct elections that will not be contested, elections that are credible, free and fair.
“We believe no criminal element can come and prevent us from conducting our elections
“I will not do anything because of personal interest that would jeopardize the interest of this nation.”
President Jonathan described the theme of the conference as unique, noting that even the bible acknowledges that if the foundation is not right, the righteous cannot do much.
In his sermon, the Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, advised President Jonathan to warn his aides and supporters to desist from insinuating that elections will not hold.
According to Onaiyekan: “Good families make a good nation.
“We can go even further to state that a good nation should be a family of families.
“The diversity of our nation is well known.
“But that is no reason why we cannot see ourselves as belonging to the same national family.
“Politics is very much in the air.
“It is a notable and sacred task meant to serve the common good of the family that is the nation.
“The hot competition between political parties should not make them forget the common objectives that everyone should be pursuing: justice, peace, prosperity, harmony, good order, building a nation we can all be proud of, etc.
“The differences are in strategies and priorities.
“These are what should be presented to us, positively and transparently, to guide our free choice at elections.
“There should therefore not be room for negative campaigns.
“Personal insults and caricatures should give way to rational discussion of issues that concern us all.
“Truth must be sacrosanct even in politics.
“Lies, deceit, calumnies cannot move us forward.
“They are the hallmarks of the bad politics, which have not allowed us achieve the high level that we deserve as a nation.
“These are what builds tensions, heats up the polity, spreads dangerous rumours and cause deep distrust among rival political groups.
“All this is not in the interest of our people.”
Also, Onaiyekan enjoined the clergy men not to make reckless remarks and political utterances liable to comprise their sacred role.
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