President Goodluck Jonathan will return to his state, Bayelsa, after handing over the reins of the nation’s leadership to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday.
Jonathan is returning home amidst mixed feelings from his kinsmen over his performance throughout the period he occupied the nation’s highest political office.
Though the state government has planned a grand reception for the outgoing President, most people are not happy that Jonathan at no time paid a working visit to the state before the expiration of his tenure.
Jonathan visited many states controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to inaugurate projects, but failed to stop by in the state.
For instance, Jonathan visited neighboring Akwa Ibom on about three occasions to inaugurate projects executed by Governor Godswill Akpabio.
But the President failed to come to Bayelsa despite all efforts by Governor Seriake Dickson to bring him to the state.
Last year, the state government hinted many times that Jonathan was coming to the state on an official visit to inaugurate projects finished by Dickson.
All was set for Jonathan to come, but he failed to show up.
The government went as far as mapping out the itinerary of the President, including completed projects lined up for commissioning, but Jonathan failed to honour the visit.
The failure of the President to pay a working visit to his home state fueled speculations that all was not well between him and the governor.
But the government denied the frosty relationship between Dickson and the President.
When asked whether the President would use the occasion of his grand reception to inaugurate some projects in the state, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Esueme Kikile, said it did not form part of the programme.
He said the tenure of the President had come to an end, adding that he lacks the capacity to turn his reception into a state visit.

omenka:
What a shameful exit. Rejected by all including his own people. Yet some useless pleb went erecting a statue while others were crawling from coast to coast in his "honour".

Islie:
Though the state government has planned a grand reception for the outgoing President, most people are not happy that Jonathan at no time paid a working visit to the state before the expiration of his tenure.


From: http://thenationonlineng.net/new/jonathan-returns-without-state-visit-to-bayelsa/