By SaharaReporters, New York
In a live media chat today, President Goodluck Jonathan stated that the Federal Government is not into any dialogue with the militant Islamist group Jama’atu Ahlissunnah Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram. Mr. Jonathan declared the sect faceless, stating that his government cannot dialogue with them.

Mr. Jonathan’s comment on Boko Haram was one of several issues he touched on during a presidential media chat that ran live on NTA in Nigeria.

President Jonathan insisted that Boko Haram and their sponsors would not stop Nigerians from working, adding that all agencies of the government including the president, vice president, ministers must keep faith in Nigeria till the end.

He added that Boko Haram was attacking churches in order to instigate religious crises. Mr. Jonathan said, “We are working and will crush it. They are changing tactics. They can as well be attacking mosques to instigate Muslims against Christians.”

Asked to justify his recent trip to Brazil, President Jonathan declared that he had no regrets, noting, “Boko Haram’s main agenda is to destabilize government like all other terrorists.” The Nigerian president stressed that suspending his trip would have given terrorists a boost.

Mr. Jonathan also explained why he had not visited Maiduguri and Damaturu, two hot beds of sectarian violence. He said the airport was ill-maintained for his plane to land, adding that he could not travel by helicopter for security reasons.

Asked why he had not declared his assets, Mr. Jonathan replied in an impatient tone, stating “I don’t give a damn” about declaration of assets. He related that he had gone to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua to caution “that we should not play to the hands of some people [by openly declaring their assets].” Mr. Jonathan added, “That is a matter of principle and I am not going to declare. It is not the president declaring his asset that will end Boko Haram.”

Other highlights of the president’s media chat are in the Premium Times report below:

President Goodluck Jonathan will this evening host a televised media chat with some Nigerian journalists to respond to questions on some topical national issues. We bring you LIVE updates from the chat.

President Goodluck Jonathan is hosting his third Presidential Media Chat since returning to office in May 2011. The first was in September 2011 and the last in January 2012, in the heat of the removal of subsidy on petroleum products.

The challenges confronting the country - insecurity, economy, corruption, fuel subsidy, dearth of infrastructural, among others - are still largely the same since his last media chat.

Refresh the page manually to get latest posts, chronologically.

The phone lines to call in on the presidential media chat is 09-625-1100 or 09-625-1000. If you are calling from outside the country, use the contry code (+234).

19:06 Gvernment ready to discuss with Boko Haram: President Joinathan says he is willing to dialogue with the Boko Haram sect, if they have a "face." He said the sect's members are Nigerians and he will like to transform their lives just like the Niger Delta millitants.

19:12 For now, there is no negotiation ongoing with Boko Haram, the president said.

19:16 President Jonathan said he has not visited Borno state, the center of Boko Haram attacks, because the airport there was not functional at the time he planned to visit. "And we did not want to land somewhere and fly in to Maiduguri with a helicopter for obvious reasons." He promises to visit the state and other states in Nigeria.

19:19 The Brazil Trip: The president said if he hadn't travelled to Brazil while Kaduna was boiling, it would have sent out a very wromg message to the world, and bolster the sect. "The day the international community gets to know that the president of Nigeria couldn't travel because of Boko Haram, then we are finished," the president said. "The Boko Haram and their sponsors cannot stop Nigeria."

19:24 The Body Language on Corruption: The president said he is a calm person and gives people the latitude to do their job in reaction to question bothering on his percieved weak body language on the fight against corruption. "A lot of people misunderstand me," he said.

Whoever says the president's body language does not allow him to fight corruption, he's incompetent

Asset Declaration: The presient says its a matter of principle and whether he is criticised from "head to toe" he will not declare his assets. "It is not right," he said. "I didn't want even want to declare my assets as VP" but was forced by the then president, Umara Musa Yar'Adua. He said asset declaration is "not the right thing to do."

19:35 Oil Subsidy Probe: The president said he initiated the probe of the oil industry even before the Senate and the House of Reps began its probe of the sector.

The president just mentioned that "only yesterday," he directed the EFCC to investigate Nigeria's bank accounts in the United States, following a report on a newspaper.

The presidency said he dealing with the same businessmen former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Late Umaru Musa Yar'Adua hobnobbed with. He speaks in defence of the businessmen, including Femi Otedola who is involved a bribery scandal with chairman of House of Reps Panel that probed the subsidy regime. He however said he did not initiate the sting operation that caught Mr. Lawan.

19:55 Electricity: "When we were campaiging, we didn't know that BH will overtake the priorities of government," the president says.

He adds that what the government is doing with the increased electricity tariff is too ensure that those who earn low income pay lower tariff. "What we are doing with electricity tariff is too ensure that those who earn low income pay lower tariff," the president said.

20:07 Agriculture: The president said his government are revolutionizing agriculture in Nigeria."We are giving cotton seeds free in the North" he said.

Third caller unable to get through to the program.

Nigeria is owing over N100 billion in judgement debts, the president reveals.

20:14 The fourth caller's line fails after he introduced himself as calling from Ibadan.

The President said the government is doing very well in railway construction. "You may not know, but we are working," he said. He added that his government has made a "significant progress" in railway construction. "You should commend us," he adds.

20:19 Ogene Tega's call from Delta state gets through, he introduces himself and the line goes dead again.

20:20 The prsident says they are managing the economy professionally, "It is not Jonathan that is managing it," he said

20:22 The president begs to us first to use two years plus to see what he can do in terms of wealth creation, before talking about 2015. "It is too early to talk about 2015," the president said. "When INEC opens the gate, we will know who will contest or who will not contest."

20:27 Relationship with National Assembly: "I have a good relationship with the National assembly," the president said. "It is not as if there are no issues." He plans to do annual address to the National Assembly and says his being summoned to the National Assembly is not an issue.

"Whenever I travel, I go with atleast two members of the National Assembly," the president reveals.

20:35 The president says he "thinks" Nigerians should still trust him. He blames his poor public perception on the dublicability of IT (social media).

He said Nigerians will begin to see the results of his government in 2013. "People (critics) will begin to change after one year," the president said.

20:42 UNILAG name change: The president said what he did, in terms of law, was correct. You change the name first, then send the bill to the National Assembly later, he argues. "What we did, was the normal procedure," he said.

He also insists that most of the students are too young to know the significance of Moshood Abiola in Nigeria's democracy.

20:46 Call from Victor in Markurdi gets through as the first successful call in for the day. Victor is asking for equitable distribution of You Win grants. He is asking the president to ensure that the grant is not given to only those who know people in government.

20:52 Crude Oil Tefth: "The stealing of crude oil is a Nigerian phenomenon," the president said. He adds that it has gone cancerous. "We will stop it, but it is like allowing a cancerous cell to grow into a major tumor."

20:55 The program ends. Thank you for following our updates.

http://premiumtimesng.com/news/5734-LIVE-UPDATES-President-Jonathans-third-media-chat.html

I can not point to anything inspiring in the whole chat.

Good I didn't waste my time watching.

Eat more beans............ Nigeria need the gas.

GEJ was just trying to be funny with the way he was talking when he's actually boring. As for me, the whole thing didn't make any sense! What a chat!! What a country!!!

What we need is action not those common things we hear all the time...

msb247: GEJ was just trying to be funny & confident with those facial + hand manipulations. As for me, the whole thing didn't make any sense!

So annoying! We can do better than this in Nigeria.

Prof Corruption:

So annoying! We can do better than this in Nigeria.

Exactly my brother... It's such a shame

Whenever I travel, I go with at least two members of the National Assembly

No wonder he has the largest delegation in the world.

Shioo,nothin said.We should wait til 2013.U kno hww many people woould hav died b4 2013? Myself and my beloved ones will nt b counted among them.

On the issue of asset declaration and UNILAG name change, the President's response sets a precedence for his successors, viz. . .

1. Asset declaration is a personal choice.
2. The executive can reverse the legislative process and make a law first before the Legislative body has had time to introduce, debate and pass the bill into law.

Trust me, we are watching and listening in the West.

20:35 The president says he "thinks" Nigerians should still trust him. He blames his poor public perception on the dublicability of IT (social media).

. . . .Says the "Facebook President" who never misses the opportunity to update his Facebook Page.

"We will stop it, but it is like allowing a cancerous cell to grow into a major tumor."

Please what does this mean?

Ds gej guy mu~mu wel wel i swear.abeg wen pesn say mk we vote am unto say him no get shoe,mk we buy am one so dt ds country go move forward.MTCHEW for naija

[size=13pt]Asked why he had not declared his assets, Mr. Jonathan replied in an impatient tone, stating “I don’t give a damn” about declaration of assets. He related that he had gone to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua to caution “that we should not play to the hands of some people [by openly declaring their assets].” Mr. Jonathan added, “That is a matter of principle and I am not going to declare. It is not the president declaring his asset that will end Boko Haram.”[/size]

Someone on another thread is already telling me I did not hear what I heard. The President said he did not believe in declaring assets, yet there are those who would like for us to believe he never said what we heard. Essentially he said the law should go to hell!

Sisi_Kill:
. . . .Says the "Facebook President" who never misses the opportunity to update his Facebook Page.

You should have heard him discuss/tell us the story of how IT is a double-edged sword. It was hilarious. I really hope the video will be available online for us all to replay.

Sisi_Kill:

Please what does this mean?

lol! Sisi, someone said the other day that bokoharam carry out what they promise and are more credible than the President. Of course that's not fair assessment but it's hard to defend the President when he keeps making such blunders like you referenced. What a dumb response from a politician on a commodity that our economy subsists on.

So no mention of cassava bread and chinese bulb? So no mention of cassava bread and chinese bulb?

Sisi_Kill:
. . . .Says the "Facebook President" who never misses the opportunity to update his Facebook Page.

He can update(rule) from anywhere, remembered?

Kobojunkie:

You should have heard him discuss/telling you a story of how IT is a double-edged sword. It was hilarious. I really hope the video will be available online for us all to replay.

To GEJ, it's only one man that has multiplied into thousands of his critics. Just one person.

^^^ ROFLMAO!!

The Nigerian president doesnt give a damn. How presidential of him. . . . .smh

GEJ's performance was below average.

Best presidential media chat ever in recent times. mr president clearly won our hearts with his answers on so many of the issues raised. Thank you Bayoooo for posting this summary so that people like KOBOJUNKIE will be well informed

The president was on point when he declared his govt cannot negotiate with faceless terrorists. He equally cleared the air on his Brasilian trip. Haters should go and hug transformer

Can someone explain to me while this Boko Haram whose name is interpreted "Western Education is Evil" not yet bombed any University in the North which are the actual centres of western education( This whole thing is as clear as crystal. Since the northern politicians lost the presidency to GEJ the southerner, they now remembered the long aged clamour from their ardent moslem brothers who have been begging them for moral and financial support in their bid to "Islamize" Nigeria. GEJ a christian sitting on their head as president is very symbolic to them; it means a DISBELIEVER (who is suppose to be their slave) is now their king, and they can't accept this fact. A christian proverb says "can 2 walk together except they agree". Even the queen of England with whose seal the Nigerian project was stamped knows too well that the North and South of the Niger area of West Africa jokingly called Nigeria can never truly unite together as one. so there is no need for this self deceit to continue -that a moslem from Borno State should see a christian from Delta or Anambra State as his brother;they can at best be neighbors. this is because it is popular opinion the world over that next to blood relationship (as a standard to measuring brotherhood)comes religion. In fact a true christian and a true moslem born of the same mother are very convinced that they are not brothers, their blood tie not withstanding. please let us just break this country peacefully because their is no way this their islamic thing can reach the south.

I missed some of the speech initially but with this I hve a better info. I love his response to the Brasilian trip. If he had cancelled it really, it would hve boosted the activities of those vampires. They will feel very funky with a sense of accomplishment. But thank God we hve an Educated Presido who is able to see beyond mere sentiments. Governance cannot be stooped because of Boko haram. and most importantly, the trip even yielded fruits in attracting foreign investments in power. Correct.

This man thinks he's ruling over 150 million tin tomatos. Lets watch and wait and see who the joke is on....i don't give a damn president.

On wealth creation, I salute his efforts towards initiating the YOU WIN project. On the power sector, good to attract investors but they should hurry up and ensure we have steady power supply soon. On security, I like wot he said about the sack of Azazi. There's need to change our security heirarchy when necessary. It was also good to know that he had commenced a private probe into NNPC even before the National Assembly. I can't wait to see NNPC deregulated. Generally, it wasn't a bad outing at all

mamiel: Can someone explain to me while this Boko Haram whose name is interpreted "Western Education is Evil" not yet bombed any University in the North which are the actual centres of western education( This whole thing is as clear as crystal. Since the northern politicians lost the presidency to GEJ the southerner, they now remembered the long aged clamour from their ardent moslem brothers who have been begging them for moral and financial support in their bid to "Islamize" Nigeria. GEJ a christian sitting on their head as president is very symbolic to them; it means a DISBELIEVER (who is suppose to be their slave) is now their king, and they can't accept this fact. A christian proverb says "can 2 walk together except they agree". Even the queen of England with whose seal the Nigerian project was stamped knows too well that the North and South of the Niger area of West Africa jokingly called Nigeria can never truly unite together as one. so there is no need for this self deceit to continue -that a moslem from Borno State should see a christian from Delta or Anambra State as his brother;they can at best be neighbors. this is because it is popular opinion the world over that next to blood relationship (as a standard to measuring brotherhood)comes religion. In fact a true christian and a true moslem born of the same mother are very convinced that they are not brothers, their blood tie not withstanding. please let us just break this country peacefully because their is no way this their islamic thing can reach the south.

This one is confused

Mandelaguy: I missed some of the speech initially but with this I hve a better info. I love his response to the Brasilian trip. If he had cancelled it really, it would hve boosted the activities of those vampires. They will feel very funky with a sense of accomplishment. But thank God we hve an Educated Presido who is able to see beyond mere sentiments. Governance cannot be stooped because of Boko haram. and most importantly, the trip even yielded fruits in attracting foreign investments in power. Correct.

This one is lost

BUMPS[img]http://www.50centloseweight.com[/img]

A very good Q & A session by GEJ. Lots of issues clarified. I hope this gives the average Nigerian faith in what the government is doing.

I wonder where these ones are coming out with a disjointed info on the president's response to the issue of assets declaration. I watched the program live. I sacrificed the better part of the England v Italy match to watch it.

On Assets declaration, the question was clear. Mr, President, why didnt you declare your assets publicly? He responded by saying that he does not like public declaration of assets and that he expressed this reservation as much to the late YarAdua. Even the above summary reiterated this fact that Gej said to YarAdua, " we should not play into the hands of people by OPENLY declaring our assets." it is open declaration of Assets that is the issue not declaration of assets. That is why he went further to say that the one he declared as VP publicly was not even long before he became acting president. He finally said that he can even come out and make it public tomorrow but that's not the issue. That how will such public declaration tackle some of the challenges we are facing at the moment.

It must be put on record that the constitution only provides for a declaration of assets with the code of conduct Beaurea not open declaration at CNN or AL JAZEERA. That's why the President says open declaration of assets is a matter of choice. Any body who is seriously desirous to know the Presidents assets should approach the CCB and with the new FOI Act passed by GEJ, you have no limitations to such info.