…condemn attacks on President Jonathan
With barely one month to the 2015 presidential poll, the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has said that it is yet to decide on which of the two prominent Presidential Candidates to support in the coming election.
It will be recalled that the two prominent Presidential candidates in the 2015 presidential election are the incumbent President and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan and the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd.).
Speaking at the flag off ceremony of the NNPP Lagos Governorship Campaign on Friday in Lagos, the National Chairman of NNPP, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam stated that the party was yet to decide on who to support between the two candidates adding that the party would make its position known a week or two before the Presidential election .
He said,” for us here, we are yet to make up our minds on what to do and who to support and who not to support. The coast is still not quite clear. Maybe, a week or thereabout before the presidential election, we will still make the pronouncement known”.
“This time, we are not likely to make some mistakes that are not quite good. We need to see what is going on. So, that is it. We will make that statement in due course but that should be before the elections”.
He however condemned the attacks on President Goodluck Jonathan in the Northern part of the country describing the action as a bad manner which he said was not the best for the country.
According to him,” recently, you are all aware that the President of the country had some incidences in Katsina and recently again in Bauchi. But the point here is not about Goodluck Jonathan as a person, it is about the Office of the president of a country because, that is the stool, that is the alter ego, that is the soul of Nigeria and so, when we think out of politics, we are throwing stones and pure water to the president of the country, you are rather throwing pure water and stones to yourself and therefore, you acted in bad manner not knowing that you are injuring yourself”.
“I believe that is not the best way we can approach issues”.
The NNPP boss decried the too much attention being accorded the issue of Gen. Buahri’s certificate saying that the attention was uncalled for even as he argued that the certificate saga had made Gen. Buhari more popular than he should.
He therefore advised those agitating over the issue of Buhari’s certificate to approach the court as it was only the court that could make declarations in that regard as according to him, “rather than all the noise we are making leading to throwing of stones to the office of the president of our country. That is wrong”.
“Buhari on his own should understand that he has integrity, he needs to follow the rules of engagement, what is the rule of engagement? There is a particular form that you are supposed to fill and attach your relevant documents and when you have not attached those documents, you have acted in error because if you go to the law, the law is greater than you”.
“You are not in a position to tell the law to go to somewhere and get your certificates. That is high level of impunity, that is wrong. But it is not enough for all those noise that we are making, creating some level of tension in our country”, he said.
Presenting the party’s flag to the Deputy Governorship Candidate of the Party, Prince Adeleke Malik Olofin who received the flag on behalf of the Governorship Candidate Olatunde Olusesan, Aniebonam advised the candidates of the party to go about their campaigns dwelling more on issues rather than on individuals.
He continued,’ your job is to look at the Manifesto of our party and do a critical analysis of that and see a few openings where you can improve the lots of the people from wherever the present administration may have stopped”.
“You are not in a position to condemn Fashola, if you have any reason to condemn Fashola, you follow the due process and the due process is to go to court. You don’t make statements to start insulting somebody”.
Responding, the Deputy Governorship candidate, Prince Olofin who spoke on behalf of the Governorship Candidate whom he said was unavoidably absent due to other pressing meetings relating to the elections thanked the party for the confidence reposed on them promising not to fail the party.
Olofin while assuring the party that they would carry on their campaign in a manner that would make the party acceptable to the people of Lagos also promised to deliver the state to the party come February 28, 2015.
Highlight of the event was the handing over of the party’s flags to the Governorship Candidate of the party as well as those for the House Assembly seats.
