The groups told our correspondent that the President was within his rights to seek re-election.
Jonathan was criticised by the opposition, All Progressives Congress, and some Nigerians for going on with the lavish declaration barely 24 hours after a suicide bomber killed over 40 schoolchildren and teachers at the Government Science Secondary School, Potiskum, Yobe State.
The Afenifere, in its reaction said there was nothing wrong with the President’s declaration, saying that the date had been fixed before the Yobe attack.
The spokesperson for the Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, told our correspondent that postponing the event would have meant succumbing to the wishes of terrorists, which would not be in the interest of the nation.
He said, “Some reactions to the declaration suggest that the bombing was deliberately planned to abort the declaration. The time has come when these merchants of terror who wants to use terror to access power to be told in clear terms that nobody should use terror to make the entire country to submit to their will. It’s unfortunate that the lives were lost.
“For us in Afenifere, we believe that to end the terror, you must allow the country run while you track down the perpetrators of these evil. But to begin to succumb to their threats and their dictates would amount to chickening out as a nation and abandoning our fate in the hands of the terrorists.”
Odumakin added that Jonathan has a right to seek re-election and asked those who are opposed that to show why and how they would do better as President.
Similarly, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said Nigerians should challenge the President on the achievements of his administration and not on whether or not he should declare his intention after a bomb attack.
The spokesperson for Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Tony Oganah, told our correspondent that the group had noted that the Boko Haram attacks were often planned to put the PDP and Jonathan in bad light.
He said, “Jonathan’s declaration was okay. It was within his right to do that. We don’t see anything wrong with it. Are they saying that because Boko Haram killed students in the North that Nigeria should grind to a halt? It is the argument of the All Progressives Congress that it should have been postponed. But another point of view is why is it that anytime the PDP plans a major event, a day or two before the event, bomb goes off somewhere. Is this deliberately done to portray the PDP and the President in bad light?
“We sympathise with those who were affected by what happened up North. But because of what happened are you telling me that nobody had breakfast today; nobody went to work today; nobody drove his car today? Tragedies are part of life and the country must go on. INEC has brought out a timetable which the President and the PDP must follow.
“I think it would be more profitable to look at the substance of the President said and find out it is true. For example, Mr. President said when he came in there were only about 5000km of federal roads that were tarred, but today it is 29,000km. Nigeria should check what he said to see if they are true. It would be more profitable to take on Mr. President on specifics rather than the generality. This is the position of Ohanaeze.”
Source: Punch
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