LAR, BODE GEORGE, GANA, OTHERS LEAD ELDERS’ COUNCIL FOR JONATHAN’S RE-ELECTION

AS political calculation ahead of the 2015 general elections continued to gather momentum, the Senior Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on PoliticalMatters, and National coordinator of Goodluck Support Group, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak on Thursday inaugurated a 44 man Elders’ Council who he said would be the think tank of the group in its support for re-election of President Jonathan.
Nigerian Tribune recalled that the group was prominent among the groups that worked for the election of President Jonathan during the 2011 elections.
A founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Solomon Lar, former deputy senate president, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, a chieftain of PDP, Chief Bode George, former speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Olubunmi Patricia Etteh, former deputy speaker, Honourable Chibudon Nwuche, Professor Jerry Gana, Professor Tunde Adeniran, Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba and Hajia Bola Shagaya, among others.
While inaugurating the Elders Council of the group, Alhaji Gulak said: “We have sat down and resolved that we must have the elders’ council of this organisation, and the members were carefully selected elders of this country who have serve in various capacities and have been playing active roles in Nigerian politics. We have decided to hand over the group to you the council elders, you are to select among yourselves the leadership, we are the foot soldiers, you are the people to sit down and bring out the policies.”
Speaking on the sideline of political happenings in the country, he said, “there are some people who believe that power must always belong to them, and who believe you and me cannot be anything without passing through them, but we know it is God that decides what he want. Anybody who tries to obstruct who God has put as Nigerian President is deceiving himself, power belongs to God and he gives it to anyone he wishes.”
To this end, he said that Nigerians should appreciate the good work of President Jonathan’s administration saying, “we must appreciate the sacrifices all of you have made on the success of this administration, and the support that you have been giving to Mr. President in his efforts to transform the country. Your individual contributions are well noted and the President is very appreciative of what you have been doing for this administration.
Some of you were there when this party was formed, and some of you have made a lot of sacrifices and are still sacrificing for the unity of this country. The unity of this country is paramount, this country belongs to all of us in respective of where we come from, or religion we practice, or the tribe we speak”.
In his brief remark on behalf of the inaugurated elders of the group,Senator Mantu said,”all of us here are very keen about the PDP performing wonderfully well in 2015, and we are fully aware that it is not going to be business as usual, because we have never had a serious opposition party that can be an alternative to the PDP, but we are beginning to see the opposition putting their house together. So, we have a lot of work to do.”
He however pleaded that the elders of the group would do all within its powers to ensure the success of the group saying that, “I am happy that God has giving you (coordinator) the wisdom to bring these people together, and we would definitely bring our collective wisdom together for the success of the party, I have no doubt in my mind with these set of people, we would do the right thing”.
Source: Tribune