ADC WILL GIVE JONATHAN PRESIDENTIAL TICKET IF…NWOSU, ADC NATIONAL CHAIRMAN
As the 2011 general election draws nearer, the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Raph Okey Nwosu has said that his party would field President Goodluck Jonathan as its standardbearer, if the President's party does not give him presidential ticket for next year's election.
The Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) where Jonathan belongs to has a zoning formular that may make it impossible for him to get the party's presidential ticket should he decide to contest the 2011 presidential election.
Nwosu told Daily Sun in an interview in Lagos that his party would be interested in fielding Jonathan in the presidential election, because it believes that his emergence as Nigerian President is an act of God.
'Why I am more inclined to Jonathan running for president for instance, is because he is the least person you expected, that with the way the Nigeria polity is going should be president now. The least. So, this shows an act of God.
Therefore, if we will follow the hand of God, rather than following the hand of the PDP godfathers or the people who feel that they own Nigeria, some retired politicians and generals who feel they must be the ones who will decide who will rule Nigeria. No, we will rather give it to God this time around', he enthused.
However, Nwosu said if Jonathan is not interested in contesting the next presidentail election, the ADC would reach out to the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to be its Presidential torch bearer.
Excerpts:
Jonathan and 2011 Presidencial election
The Constitution of Nigeria is clear. Anybody can run for president. And it is arrogant for PDP to say that there is zoning in their constitution, that this person or that person may not run. I don't agree with that. PDP constitution is not synonymous with the Nigerian constitution. Therefore, if Jonathan wants to run, I will actually give him the ticket of my party. We will consider him in our party, if PDP goes outside the national constitution.
Come to think about it, in 2003 after the first election, different people came out. PDP brought Obasanjo again. Even before then, Atiku had wanted to run for presidency. Other northerners within the PDP wanted to run. Then in ANPP, Buhari ran in 2007. There is just no basis. Different parties have brought people from different areas. It is not for PDP to decide. It is not for individuals who are hanging around to force anybody down the throat of Nigerians.
Why I am more inclined to Jonathan running for president for instance, is because he is the least person you expected that with the way the Nigeria polity is going should be president now. The least. So, this shows act of God. Therefore, if we will follow the hand of God rather than following the hand of the PDP godfathers or the people who feel that they own Nigeria, some retired politicians and Generals we feel they must be the ones who will decide who will rule Nigeria. No, we will rather give it to God this time around. And if Jonathan is paired with Nuhu Ribadu, Jonathan /Ribadu ticket would be awesome. He will be difficult for anybody to defeat. Because the biggest problem in this country is corruption. And nobody has shown the nerve to fight corruption as much as Ribadu. You put together that ticket, within the next four years, Nigeria will start building institutions. And these are the institution we need to grow the country.
You can see the way PDP is going now, they are quarrelling. If Jonathan continues being in PDP, then we are going to field Ribadu. We are going to get him into our party, just like in 2007, we went out to convince Professor Pat Utomi that this is the party to belong to. And he belonged to the party and we fielded him.
Now, we feel that Ribadu has the future, and we are thinking of bringing him together with the president. And that would be an awesome ticket for Nigeria. And in our party, we look for things we consider good for the country, in order to move Nigeria forward and get the change that we deserve. We cannot move forward in this country except we fight corruption head on.