FORMER president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, was, on Thursday, cautioned by South-South leaders, chiefs, elders and stakeholders to stop harassing, intimidating, stampeding or blackmailing President Goodluck Jonathan.
Obasanjo had recently accused President Jonathan of sundry issues, including training of assassins to eliminate political opponents.
Rising from its meeting in Abuja, the South-South leaders, chiefs, elders and stakeholders told Obasanjo that Nigerians could not breath through his nose, adding that they supported him when he was the president.
Speaking though their spokesperson and chief coordinator in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Bello Premier, the group condemned Obasanjo’s letter to Jonathan, describing it as doom and false alarm.
“General Obasanjo is only shouting wolve when there is none at sight. The letter is full of premeditated ideas geared towards undermining the integrity of the South-South people and intended to keep them perpetually as minority in the political scheme of Nigeria as a nation,” it said.
The group added that people of the South-South would resist any attempt to make them second class citizen in their country, adding that “there is no way one man (Obasanjo) would want the entire country (Nigeria) to breath through his nose.”
It alleged that since his (Obasanjo) bid to foist Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido and Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, on Nigeria as president and vice president respectively had failed, he had restorted to ploys to distabilise Jonathan-led government.
“Only Obasanjo can explain the reason he decided to embark on his failed mission. The entire South-South people are looking at his face.
“If he had his constitutional right to stand for an election to vote and be voted for, same goes for Dr Jonathan, who is a bonafide Nigeria from the South-South. The right of offer or refusal to contest in 2015 solely rest with Jonathan alone.
“He must not be intimidated, harassed, stampeded or blackmailed to surrender power against the collective will of the good people of South-South and Nigeria, who in 2011 gave him their mandate,” it said.
The group added that the developmental stride, as witnessed in this current administration of Jonathan, had never happened before in the history of Nigeria, despite the enormous challenges of both human and natural hiccups.
The group said the Jonathan-led administration had made in-road in the power, telecommunications, agricultural, sport, education, health, defence, highways, aviation, waterways and other sectors.


http://www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/news/news-headlines/item/29426-s-south-leaders-to-obj-stop-intimi

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