JONATHAN: SHULUWA CAUTIONS ON 2011

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Benue State , Chief Abu King Shuluwa, has said that if President Jonathan agrees to contest the 2011 presidential elections, the gentleman's agreement which the party had in 1999 would have been broken.

'What I don't understand is that people are calling for Jonathan to contest and it would appear as if he is also interested to contest for 2011. This is where the problem is trying to emerge. If Jonathan decides to contest as he has been called by many people, especially Obasanjo, then a fundamental issue would have been broken. That gentleman's agreement is broken,' he said.

Shuluwa who is the former Caretaker Committee chairman of the Plateau State PDP explained that if a gentleman's agreement was broken it simply meant that there would no longer be a gentleman's agreement between the two people.

Explaining that the gentleman's agreement that would have been broken was not a violation of the constitution of the country, the PDP chieftain noted that since the constitution gave every Nigerian the right to contest once he or she is a Nigerian, Jonathan had the right as a person to contest.

Said he: 'The constitution gives every Nigerian the right to contest once you are a Nigerian, you are of age, you have no criminal records, you are of sound mind, then you are free to contest irrespective of tribe or which area you come from. Provided you are a Nigerian, you are free to contest.'

While opining that the emergence of Jonathan could not disrupt the zoning arrangement of the party, Shuluwa posited that zoning was never in the Constitution of the, Federal Republic of Nigeria neither was it in the party's Constitution, but an internal arrangement of the party (PDP).

'Zoning is never in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Zoning is an internal arrangement of the party (PDP) and it is not even in the constitution of the party (PDP) itself. The issue of zoning which took place in 1999 was based on gentleman's agreement.'

He, however, warned that if Jonathan breaks the gentleman's agreement and he happens to win, there would be lack of trust between the North and the South and therefore there would no longer be any gentleman's agreement between them.

'If Jonathan breaks this gentleman's agreement and he happens to win, there are consequences, one of which is that there would be lack of trust between A and B and therefore there would no longer be a gentleman's agreement. Everybody is now free to contest at any given time. Now, it goes down to the issue of game of number. Whoever has the number will continue to win.'