The Deputy Governor of Sokoto state, Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari, who is a strong member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday urged Northerners to vote enmaess for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, in his second term bid as President in 2015. Doing this, he said, would instill fairness, justice and equity in the fabric of the country’s polity.

The former Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, premised his argument on the fact that everyone who had the opportunity to become president of Nigeria, were given the opportunity to go for second term, adding that former Presidents Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo, were given the same opportunity.

“If the former late President, Umaru Shehu Yar’Adua were still alive, he also, would have been given the same opportunity. Why not Jonathan?”, the deputy governor asked.

Shagari who granted THISDAY an interview in Abuja, said Jonathan, who is from the South-south and the people of that region have been supportive of the Northern political agenda for almost 50 years.

On why he maintains such declaration, even though some elite opposed Jonathan’s second term bid, he said: “If now, the opportunity has come for us as northerners, to support the candidacy of the South-south, because one good turn deserves another, and I knew at that point in time, when I made that pronouncement, politically, it was not a popular thing to say.

“We should not just vote based on popularity, we should in this country imbibe this idea of fairness, justice and equity and allow others to have opportunity when that opportunity comes around, and I still maintain that position, in that Jonathan should be given all the support that he needs to have a second term, because as far as I’m concerned there are challenges, yes, but he is doing the best that he can to make this country a better place for us.”

According to him, any President, could be in the same shoe with him, regarding all the security problems, adding that Nigerians should not ask him to go based on those challenges. He said Jonathan should be given all the support that he deserves.

Shagari said: “We should also understand that the problem of this country was not created by him. He inherited most of them, including the security problem. What we have to do as a nation is to come out boldly and support him to fight the insecurity that we have, and also to give the people of the South-south the opportunity to have a second term.”

GEJ '2015!!!

I see our boy is justifying the pay we gave him, . . ., ride on, there is a large crest of $20 billion to make such positive remarks

you spoke well your Excellency.
Gej is a silent achiever and wonderful performer and that alone is enough to bring him back in 2015

The opponents of Gej's re-election say by May 2015 he would have spent 6 years in office; so, in effect he's serving his second term now.There's therefore no basis for comparison with shagari and Obj who had 4-year first terms. One of Obj's grouse with Gej is that when he proposed a single term of 6 years early on, he said Gej agreed with him, saying it would start with him because by the end of his tenure in May 2015 he would hav served his 6 years. Politicians! Big-time liars! I would not be surprised if Gej schemes to remove the term limit from the Constitution. All he got to do is to buy one of these money- worshipers to start the process their usual way - " God told me...." Actually, he has started wooing them with his weekly appearance at different centres.