President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan declared Monday in Washington DC that
the days when a few politicians, acting in concert with their hirelings
and thugs, can hijack voters cards and other electoral materials, and
manipulate the outcome of elections to their personal advantage are gone
forever in Nigeria.
Speaking at a meeting with Nigerian professionals in the United States,
President Jonathan said that he remained fully committed to keeping the
promise he made in 2011 that he will do everything possible to ensure that
the elections in Nigeria become very free, fair and credible.
The President assured the gathering that in keeping with that pledge which
has been fulfilled in recent elections in Edo, Ondo and Ekiti States, the
Federal Government will take all necessary steps to ensure that no
individual, group or political party is able to thwart the legitimate
choice of genuine voters in Saturday’s governorship election in Osun
State.
“The issue of credible elections must be institutionalised in Nigeria. Our
electoral processes were not very good or credible when we came into
office, but as I promised, we have been working very hard to change things
and ensure that our elections are more credible, that every legitimate
vote counts and that results are acceptable to the electorate.
“I promise you that the Osun governorship elections will be very free,
fair and credible,” President Jonathan told the gathering while responding
to questions and comments on topical issues in Nigeria.
Responding to other concerns raised by the Nigerian professionals, the
President said that the Federal Government will continue to give the
highest possible priority to policies and programmes that will lead to the
creation of enough jobs for Nigerian youth.
“Job creation is a challenge to every government in the world. We are
doing all that we can to tackle the problem in Nigerian because we know
that we have a very youthful population and if we do not create enough
jobs to meet their needs, the country will be in trouble,” he said.
President Jonathan also spoke of his administration’s efforts to improve
standards and access to educational institutions in Nigeria, address the
national housing deficit and further empower women.
He thanked Nigerian professionals abroad for the patriotic support for his
government and urged them to continue to show love and concern for the
well-being of their fatherland.
“We expect you continue to add more value to what we are doing and we will
continue to engage your services and expertise when we can, because if we
do not, the valuable education and skills you have acquired will be of no
benefit to the development of our country,” he said.
The President later received and commended young Nigerians who are
participating in the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, a
leadership programme sponsored by the United States government to train
young African professionals in American universities, government
departments and private sector.
Out of the 500 places on the programme, 45 were won by young Nigerians in
a competitive selection process.