Following President Goodluck Jonathan’s insistence during a media chat on Sunday night that he did not sign any agreement with any group of people to vie for the seat of power in 2015, the New Peoples Democratic Party also insisted that the president lied about the in February 2011 statement in Turkey.
Jonathan had dared the groups claiming to have gotten his assent to the agreement to come out with the tangible evidences and the splinter group has disclosed that there is a concrete evidence of the agreement with a South-south governor whose name has yet to be mentioned.
In a new exposure, the National Publicity Secretary of the New PDP, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, told a reporter that the communiqué containing the president’s assent to the agreement during a PDP governors’ meeting will be made public at the appropriate time.
He also claimed that the meeting was attended by 20 governors in December 2010.
He also said the aforementioned meeting was held before the meeting of the National Executive Committee which approved the guidelines for the 2011 elections, as well as the presidential primaries.
Eze further said the meeting was presided over by the former National Chairman of the party, Dr. Okweliseze Nwodo, where it was collectively agreed that Jonathan would stay in office for only four years.
He assured that the copy of the agreement which is also in the possession of one of the the South-South governors, supporting the President will be eventually exposed.
On the alleged public declaration by the President in Turkey, he stated thus: “In February, 2011, while interacting with Nigerians and diplomats working in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union in Ankara, Turkey, the President said that he would have loved that the Nigerians in Diaspora voted during the election that year, but added that that would be very difficult.
“Presently, the law does not allow voting outside Nigeria and so this year Nigerians in Diaspora will not vote but I will work towards it by 2015 even though I will not be running for election.”
“Why would our President deny the statement he made in a broad-day light, even in the presence of international media?”
“Why, because of ambition, would our President deny the words that came out of his mouth and statements he made not under duress?”, Eze queried
It is pertinent to recall the president’s insisted otherwise last Sunday when he categorically said: “There was no agreement with anybody that I will serve for only one term. If I had signed any agreement with anybody, they would have shown you the agreement.
Jonathan claimed that he did not say that he will not contest in 2015 but had advocated for single term of seven years during his speech in Addis Ababa.
“I said if Nigerians agree to that, I may not be involved. I did not say I will contest or not. Those who said I have signed an agreement, they should show the agreement”, the president had dared his critics.