The Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) has announced its intention to adopt Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential flag bearer in the next general elections in 2011.

This was made known yesterday in Abuja, by the party’s national chairman, Edozie Madu, being the decision taken by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party. Mr. Jonathan is the incumbent president who won the mandate as a vice president on the ticket of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with late Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007.

According to Mr. Madu, the CDC has decided to transfer the solidarity and support given to the late president, Musa Yar’Adua, to his successor to ensure continuity.

In a telephone conversation with NEXT, CDC’s chairman stated that the party is adopting Mr. Jonathan because he “is the most qualified person to lead this country at this time because he has been a deputy governor, a governor, a vice-president, and now a president. So, no one has the depth of experience he has garnered in his political career.”

Mr. Madu further adds that the party is also standing by its original policy, which was the adoption of late President Umaru Yar’Adua as its flag bearer in 2009.

“We want a man who can continue with the amnesty plan, the seven-point agenda, and the great legacies of the late president”, Mr. Madu added.

The party’s leader noted that the party would officially hand over the ticket to the incumbent president at its convention later in the year. “CDC will hold its first ever convention this year, since the party was officially registered in 2006. The convention will ratify this decision and officially present President Jonathan the ticket to run as our party’s candidate,” he said.

The chairman said that the party had no intention to present its own presidential candidate until 2015, to allow adequate preparations that would deliver victory to the party. He gave the assurance that the party would continue to support Mr. Jonathan to ensure sustainability of democracy in the country. “Jonathan has over the time acquired the necessary experience to drive Nigeria to its promise land,” he said.

The party, he added, would contest all elective positions, except the presidency: “CDC is youth-based and has more than 1000 candidates ready to contest election at different levels.”

He promised that details of the party’s expansion programme and convention would be made public soon.

Jettison zonning

Mr. Madu, however, called on Nigerians to shun any sentiments over the issue of zoning or rotation of power, saying, “the region candidates come from is immaterial to national development. Nigeria should by now have outgrown the logic of politics based on race, and focus on national interest and development,” he said.

CDC is one of the over fifty political parties in Nigeria, and on its website, it claims to be the first youth-oriented political party in Nigeria.

False alarm !!!!