Experts applaud debate
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday described himself as a responsible leader who would not put his personal interest above the nation’s interest in the course of his official responsibility.
He restated his commitment to transforming the nation if reelected as president in the coming general elections, and promised to fight poverty through massive job creation from commercial agriculture and the oil sector.
The president spoke during a presidential debate boycotted by his main opponents, General Muhammadu Buhari (CPC), Malam Nuhu Ribadu (ACN) and Malam Ibrahim Shekarau (ANPP) in Abuja yesterday.
A mass communication expert, Dr, Salihu Ibrahim, last night described the president’s performance in the debate as “excellent”, saying: “I wish his opponents participated in the debate so that the public can assess all of them together.”
The chief of party, Centre For Public Opinion and Media Research, Mr. Osaro Odemwingie, also applauded Jonathan’s debate. “The president needs to be applauded; he did very well. I see a candidate with a clear vision, a candidate who is very coherent, a candidate with a clear vision in his programme,” he said.
The mass communication expert said his only regret was that his opponents boycotted the programme.
Responding to questions by a panel made up of the national president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye; the president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Malam Muhammed Garuba, and the executive director (news) of Africa Independent Television (AIT), Mr. Imoni Amarere, the president said he could not participate in the presidential debate organised by NN24 because of exigency of time and official duties.
He said before he got the invitation of the NN24, he had received over 12 similar invitations from other groups and that, as a president, he did not have the luxury of time to attend all the debates.
Jonathan said he had no problem debating with anybody because he believes that, as a public officeholder, he must be accountable to the people.
The president said he was committed to transforming Nigeria to the huge expectation of Nigerians and the international community. “My presidency will bring hope to Nigerians - that wherever you come from, you can aspire to any position in the country. I will not discriminate against anybody,” he said.
In order to deploy more financial resources to the grass roots, Jonathan said he would accede to the recommendation of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) on revenue-sharing formula.
On the issue of corruption, Jonathan said it was the responsibility of everybody to fight corruption. He said though institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) were created to fight corruption, the battle should not be limited to the institutions. The president said he would continue to give free hand to the anti–corruption agencies to do their jobs within the laid down rules and regulations.
The president said his immediate priority, if elected, is to ensure effective power generation and distribution, noting that if the power problems are fixed, most of the challenges facing the nation would be easily tackled. He said there were many ongoing projects to fix the problems and expressed strong confidence that power would be stabilized.
He also promised to assent to the Freedom of Information Bill once it is sent to him, saying it would promote transparency and accountability in governance.
President Jonathan restated his commitment to free, fair and credible elections in spite of the fact that he is contesting an election. He advised the electorate to shun any action that is capable of causing violence during the elections, saying the security agencies had been instructed to deal with anybody found committing crime during the elections.
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