B’Haram attacks won’t stop Jonathan in 2015 —S’South elders

ELDERS and youths from the South-South geo-political zone have said that those orchestrating the killing of innocent Nigerians in a bid to frustrate President Goodluck Jonathan from seeking a second term in office will fail.

The elders and youths said the President would not be arm-twisted into dropping his second-term ambition.

They made this remark in a communiqué issued on Monday shortly after the fourth edition of the South-South Youth Leaders and Elders Interactive Forum in Port Harcourt.

The communiqué was signed by the Chairman of the Cross River State Traditional Rulers’ Council, His Royal Majesty, Dr. Okon Edet, leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo and six others.

Describing the proposed re-election of President Jonathan in 2015 as mandatory, the elders and youths from the South-South said Nigerians were eager to see the President complete his transformation agenda.

They threatened to label individuals or groups from the zone working towards truncating the collective political agenda of the South-South as traitors and enemies of the zone.

“All those orchestrating the killing of innocent Nigerians in a bid to arm-twist Mr. President to drop his mandatory second term obligation should reconsider their position as such antics cannot cow Mr. President or even the South-South people, let alone the generality of Nigerians who are eager to see Mr. President complete his transformation agenda.

“The mandatory re-election of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, is hereby adopted as the collective political agenda of the South-South People.

“That groups and/or individuals of the South-South extraction who take steps directly or indirectly to truncate the collective political agenda of the South-South people shall be considered traitors and enemies of the South-South geopolitical zone,” the communiqué reads in parts.

They, however, observed that public office holders from the South-South zone were currently exposed to campaign of calumny as a result of their support for President Jonathan.

According to the youths and elders from the zone, “We shall not let the cat out of the bag, but we assure the public that adequate measures are now in place to check and retaliate against such activities.

“We declare work open in full force for the actualisation of Mr. President’s second term in office, without waiting for his official declaration in which he has no choice.”