President Goodluck Jonathan has for the umpteenth time stressed that the idea of the Interim National Government is alien to the 1999 constitution, as amended, calling the suggestion as an act of treason.
He therefore warned those linking him with such plan to beware of the treasonable nature of such calls.
Also, he assured that elections will hold on the new dates of March 28th and April 11th as announced by Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), noting that interim government can only be set up by the military, which will not be acceptable to the international community.
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, reiterated that his personal ambition will never override the interest of the nation.
According to him, “There is no way Goodluck Jonathan elected by people with clear mandate will now go and head 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”, he said.
While commending the theme of the conference which is family, Jonathan described it as unique, noting that even the bible acknowledges that if the foundation is not right the righteous cannot do much.
The President said the election postponement was a blessing in disguise, saying the casualty figure in the February 14 Gombe attack would have been worse if the election went ahead
“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,” he added.
The Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, in his sermon, urged President Jonathan to warn his aides and supporters to desist from insinuating that elections will not hold as scheduled or that he won’t hand over to a new government on May 29th, if he loses.
The Cardinal regretted the bitter rivalry among political parties, saying it is not healthy for the polity.
Onaiyekan said, “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. Apart from the fact that the things we have in common far outweigh our differences, even those differences need not be causes for conflict and friction. If we acquire the habit of respecting one another, then our differences can become beauty to celebrate in harmony.
“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 hall marks of the bad politics which have not allowed us achieve the high level that we deserve as a nation. These are what builds tentions, 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”, he said.
On the rescheduled election, the cleric asked politicians to use the extra time to mend fences.
He warned that the dates should not be violated to avoid dire consequences.
According to Onaiyekan, ”However one judges the wisdom or even justice of the postponement of the elections, we should commend the political parties for patiently accepting a “fait accompli” that seriously disrupted the plans – and maybe even budget – of many of them.
“The nation will nevertheless be better served if we use the unexpected extra time to work for better outcome in our elections. Can we spend the time left to change attitudes, repair broken relationships and build trust. For example, Mr. President has declared publicly that he is committed to free and fair elections. While we believe him, we hope that he will not allow any of his supporters to poison this holy resolve.
“In the same vein, he has declared that not only May 29th but also March 28 and April 11 are sacrosanct dates. There is no question of any new shift of dates. By the same token, he has excluded any idea of a much speculated “interim government” for which there is, is any case, no provisions in our constitution. These are sacred declarations from our President, which cannot be violated without the kind of serious consequence that is in nobody’s interest. It would be better therefore that we give Mr. President the benefit of the doubt and stop sowing doubts that only raise tensions and create avoidable anxieties”.
Onaiyekan also spoke to the clergy urging them not to make reckless remarks and political utterances liable to comprise their sacred role.
