2015: TAN waiting for Jonathan’s declaration, matters arising

Emeka Ibemere

Despite the barrage of criticism of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and other challenges of insecurity coupled with the missing Chibok girls, the activities of the famous Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), seems to have receiving it hot from the opposition parties and other Nigerians.

With the time ticking nearer to the 2015 Presidential election and silent stance of the President towards the 2015 election, an alleged over 80,0000 groups are said to have wrinkled up to push the President to declare for the Presidency, comes next year.

At the helm of the affairs, are the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), who are coordinating the sensitization and awareness campaign for Jonathan-Sambo 2015 election, even when their party has not endorsed the duo for the next year’s election.

 The attacks of the All Progressives Congress (APC) daring the PDP party to show evidences on the achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan, to warrant him re-election in 2015, seems to be hitting the tempo of the campaign train of the TAN.

But TAN, in a statement has denied also that neither the federal government nor any of its ministries, agencies or departments is behind the funding of its programmes and projects in their bid to bring back Jonathan.

However, the national publicity secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in statement on Sunday last week, said Jonathan’s refusal to stop the rallies was evidence that he was behind TAN.

The APC also said the fact that the rallies were being coordinated by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, ministers, governors and other public office holders in Jonathan’s administration, showed that TAN had the president’s backing. Meanwhile, the statement by TAN signed by its director of communications and strategy, Udenta O Udenta, stated thus: “We are yet to see just one counter electronic media programming attacking our well-researched documentation of developments occurring in different national sectors in the past three and half years, or just one OP-ED refuting the veracity of our presentations.

“What is served us daily from Lai Mohammed’s ‘Verkhovenskian’ imagination is the torrent of well rehearsed falsehood, empty political prattle, pompous self-enfoolment dressed up as political fact, self-righteous indignation that bothers on pious cant and excess of bellicosity demeaning of a democrat”, Udenta said.

“As we await just one deconstructive reading of TAN by the APC we will resign ourselves, as Nigerians have already done, to Lai Mohammed’s stale mythologies of politics and power and gross ritualization of inconsequential political fables which have no bearing to truth.‎” On the funding of TAN’s activities, Udenta said “the fact remains that TAN has neither sought nor received a kobo from the Federal government, all its ministries, agencies or department in executing its programmes and projects.

“Anybody who has evidence to the contrary should present same to the public or shut up for good. But for those who are set on an inexorable course of political perdition through the irrational criminalization of opinions, perspectives and viewpoints that counter theirs they earn neither our condemnation nor even contempt; they earn our sympathy given the surreal cloud of ethical infamy that envelops the political spaces the dwell in.”

However, not clear of the President’s intention, several social -political organizations have made their intent known to the Presidency about their concern in the build-up to the 2015 Presidential election. And in conjunction with TAN, the organisations are serious to return the Jonathan to Aso-Rock in 2015.

One of the groups, Eastern Union, has gone as far as vowing to purchase Presidential nomination form of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, whether he likes it or not.

Eastern Union (EU), made the declaration during the week, and said after reaching an agreement with their diaspora organisation’s outlet in United States and other European countries, have planned to pick the nomination form for the President before the end of September.

According to the national President of the group, Honourable Charles Anike, the organization reached the conclusion that the President must finish his second term starting from the 2015 election, adding that the President’s transformation agenda must not be abandoned half way.

The Group leader hinted to Daily Newswatch in Lagos State, that they are preparing ahead to mobilize its members nationwide and in the diaspora for them to contribute and obtain Presidential nomination form for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for 2015, PDP presidential ticket.

“This will be another effort by our teaming members to support and encourage Mr. President to summon courage to take up the challenge of continuing in office after 2014”, Anike quipped.

“And also prove our unflinching and determination to support Mr. President.”

According to the organization after their stakeholders’ meeting at Oshodi, the Group asked the President to rise up to the occasion and declare his interest saying that there is no more time to waste in declaring for the 2015, adding that time lost in politics can never be regain again.

On the Union’s interest in supporting an Igbo President candidate in 2015 instead of South- South candidate, Anike said the Igbos have right to aspire to rule Nigeria but believes that even if it cannot realised now that it could be realized one day.

“For us, the Igbo have every right to present candidates of their choice in 2015 if they have good ones in any political party, good and well. We will give our support to them but one thing i want to let you know is the present government to us has not done very badly and even if Igbo is not willing to contest in 2015, there are 2019. We still have every ample time to do so”.

Meanwhile, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, has assured those itching for President Jonathan to make his intention known in the 2015 election that President Goodluck Jonathan would soon break his silence and announce his desire to contest for a second term in 2015.

 Anyim spoke during the South-South rally organised by the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt, and Rivers State capital. The leader of TAN, Mr. Kenneth Kobani, presented 4, 150,000 signatures to the president and urged him to contest the 2015 presidential election.

 Anyim explained that the South-South had broken the record going by the number of signatures the zone had garnered.

 “Yes, the South- South has broken the record of the other five zones that have so far asked President Jonathan to run for a second term of four years. “Your region has collected 4,150,000 signatures. From the names, phone numbers and local government of those that signed, it shows that the signatures can be verified. This process is real,” he said.

 “The distribution of the figures is fantastic. Rivers State has 1,100,000; Akwa Ibom, 800,000; Bayelsa State, 500,000; Cross River State, 520,000; Edo State, 420,000 and Delta State, 750,000. “We are truly grateful. For me, something significant has happened in the South- South. You have shown that you are solidly behind President Jonathan, The South- South has beaten our record in the South-East, but I can assure you that if I go back to collect more signatures, the number would have doubled. According to him;

 “The South-South has spoken very loudly. Very soon you will hear from the president and you will not be disappointed. The president appreciates all what you have gone through to collect these signatures. “He is a listening president. He truly understands your feelings and very soon you will hear from him,” the SGF said.

Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, stated that President Jonathan had led Nigeria into becoming the largest economy in Africa; created three million jobs; managed Nigeria into becoming the fastest growing economy in Africa and as such deserved commendation and the support of Nigerians to inspire him to do more.

Before now, TAN, has given reasons why it is mobilising support for President Goodluck ahead of the 2015 general election in the country.

Ben Nwosu, TAN’s Director of Field Operations, said the support was because of Mr. Jonathan’s developmental strides in the country.

Speaking at the North Central rally organised by his group for the president, Mr. Nwosu said Mr. Jonathan’s administration had engaged many jobless youths across the country.

“He has done better than most presidents in office from aviation to agriculture, education and infrastructure development,” he was quoted to have said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.

Despite Mr. Jonathan criticising the various skill acquisition training programs by government agencies, TAN listed the trainings as one of the reasons for supporting the president. “He is the first President that have actively engaged youths in various skills acquisition across the country in order to make them self reliant,” Mr. Nwosu said.  Jonathan had few months ago described as ‘total waste’ the various training programmes embarked upon by government agencies.

You are rather frustrating more people and probably increasing the number of criminals in the society,” the president told the agencies. “I always say that if you train a young man as a fitter and he has no job to do, he or she will use that skill to break into banks, because you have trained him on how to handle iron and how to handle complicated locks.” Apart from the training programs, Mr. Nwosu said the president practices true democracy in governing the country. He added that this had led to robust acceptance of criticism from the opposition. He said the call on the President to re-contest was not going to turn him into `president for life.’ “Four years is not a life time. Those criticising him have not done better than him. Therefore, he should be allowed to complete the good work he has started.’’

However, APC has insisted that the rallies held across the country by the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, TAN; represent an assault on the intelligence and sensibilities of Nigerians, at a time of unprecedented security and health challenges in the country.

The APC, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said no amount of inversion of reasoning by the TAN foot soldiers can wash the rallies clean of shame and disgust.

It said only those described as ‘morons and sycophants’ by Prof. Wole Soyinka can be engaging in celebratory rallies when soldiers are dying on the Boko Haram battle front, when citizens are daily being dispatched to their graves by insurgents and when the country is still reeling from the challenge of Ebola that has claimed many innocent lives.

The party wondered how the inauguration of its regional executives in Sokoto could be equated with the rallies being held across the country by TAN, which it said is another name for the PDP.

The party said if President Goodluck Jonathan had not been running a government marked by impunity, there was no way any political party would have brazenly kick-started electioneering campaign under the guise of an ‘NGO’ that is coordinated by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ministers, state governors and other public officials, at a time like this.

“The PDP-led Federal Government and its ‘NGO’ called TAN are bare-faced liars and cheats. They have seized an undue advantage over every other party by defying the nation’s laws to start an early electioneering campaign, and no one, not even INEC, dares call them to order! Little wonder, their podiums are collapsing under the weight of their lies,’’