The Northern Elders Forum has said that only a declaration by President Goodluck Jonathan stating that he will not contest the 2015 elections can douse the political tensions in the country.
The Deputy Chairman of NEF, Dr. Paul Unongo speaking to Punch said President Jonathan must abide by the single term pact he made with chieftains of the PDP during his 2011 campaign.
Unongo stated that the resignation of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur was a welcome development but was not wholly capable of redeeming the PDP from the crisis plaguing the Party.
He said, “I think if the PDP had done this (forced Tukur to resign) a long time ago, it would have perhaps stemmed the avalanche (of crises) that happened. Tukur represented the ugliest face of the PDP. He was insensitive; he was not caring; he was brutal.
“He already decided that Mr. Jonathan must be the presidential candidate of the PDP in 2015 and anybody who didn’t like that should go to hell. It is wonderful that after a long time, the PDP realised what some of us told them. We had told them that you don’t take Nigerians for granted, thinking you can do whatever you want.
“I hope that for the sake of the PDP, now that they have finished with the issue of Tukur, they will deal with the issue of Mr. President by deciding that he should not stand for election, so that the gentleman agreement between the North and the South will prevail. The one-term has been the main cause of the crisis in the PDP.”
Commenting further on the crisis rocking the PDP, he said the factions consisted of those who advised President Jonathan to run for elections in 2015 and those who were against it.
“It’s been between the people, who have been insisting on the President respecting the one-term pact and those who have been using him, and are telling him to go ahead and stand for election; that nothing will happen.
“You have young governors telling him, ‘nothing will happen; the Middle-Belt is with you’. The only thing that can save PDP now is for Mr. President to state categorically that he will not contest election in 2015. Otherwise the defections will continue and the PDP will lose the election if it fields Jonathan,” he said.