Washington DC – By Alltimepost.com.
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan of Nigeria has assured Nigerians and the world that his administration would ensure a free, fair and credible election in the forth coming gubernatorial race in Osun State.
The president’s assurance came yesterday against the backdrop of apprehensions and allegations of planned rigging by some people or groups in the state.
In the countdown to the election, opposition party, APC has accused the President’s ruling People’s Democratic Party of orchestrating a plan to rig the election in favor of its candidate.
Dr Jonathan who is in the United States of America for the US-Africa Summit was answering a question asked by Alltimepost.com at a meeting tagged: Presidential Lunch/Interactive Session with Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan that he held with a group of Nigerian professionals in the Diaspora at the Nigeria’s Embassy in Washington DC.
The president said that it was the policy of his administration to ensure free, fair and credible election and that the case of Osun would not be an exception, adding that it is in line with the promise he made in 2011.
He mentioned the states where such policy had practically been successful in Nigeria’s electoral history to include Edo, Ondo and Ekiti.
According to him, the government would take all necessary steps to make sure that no group or political party undermines the will of the people in deciding who wins the gubernatorial elections in Osun State come Saturday August 9, 2014.
“The issue of credible elections must be institutionalized 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.”
President Jonathan said that he has long told his political associates that the will of the people in an election must be upheld even if it affects him, adding, “ If I win I will celebrate, If Lose, I will celebrate”
On job creation, he promised to create more jobs to meet the challenges of unemployment in the country.
“Job creation is a challenge to every government in the world. We are doing all that we can to tackle the problem in Nigeria because we know that we have a very youthful population and if we do not create enough jobs to meet their needs, the county will be in trouble.”
He told the audience, which included industrial giants that his administration was not only committed to improving the nation’s standards of education, but access to more educational institutions.
President Jonathan touted his achievement in this areas among others, saying since coming into office his administration has established 14 universities across the country and called on the private sector to complement the efforts of the federal government in that direction.
He commended the efforts of the Nigerian professionals abroad in their various fields and thanked them for their continued support for his administration.
The administration, he continued was open to all honest opinions on how to improve government programs.
“We expect you to 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 value of education and skills you have acquired will be of no benefit to the development of our country.”
The highlight of the occasion was the president’s special meeting and hand-shaking with some of the 45 Nigerian young men and women who are taking part in the Washington Fellowship for Young African leaders – a leadership initiative under the sponsorship of the United States government.
The program is aimed at training young African professionals in American universities, government departments and the private sector.
The program administrators requested 500 participants through a highly competitive exercise and of those numbers reserved for all African nations, Nigeria won 45 spots.
The president told the participants that he and the nation were proud of them.
On the nation’s affirmative action program, he said he stood for women’s rights, saying the number of women in his administration was a clear testimony to that fact.
According to him, his government would continue to advance the cause of women in all areas of human endeavor.
