Jonathan can contest in 2015 – Northern forum

Contrary to the positions of some people in the northern region, a group from the zone, Transformation Agenda Solidarity Forum, has said that President Goodluck Jonathan is free to contest the 2015 presidential election.
Leader of the forum, who is also a former
chairman of the Federal Character
Commission, Alhaji Muhammad Gwaska, who
spoke with reporters in Abuja on Tuesday, said
the constitution still allows the President to
contest for another term.
Gwaska said it was erroneous for anyone to
claim that because President Jonathan was
sworn-in after the death of late President
Umaru Yar’Adua and again after he won the
2011 election, he was already into his second
term.
He said Jonathan had only contested the
presidential election only once and was
automatically qualified to run in 2015 if he so
desires.
He said, “Let me tell you and let me tell every
Nigerian that we have a constitution and we
must respect the constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
“What I know is that under the constitution of
this country, a person who elected is president
will serve the first tenure of four years and at
the end of that if members of his political are
willing they could still urge him to contest for
another four years, and that is the second
tenure.
“He will contest general election along with
other candidates who are sponsored by other
political parties.
“If at the end of the general election he
emerges victorious then it means Nigerians
have given him opportunity to finish his
second tenure making it a period of eight years
and that makes it conclusive.”
Gwaska added that “We want everybody to
understand that in 2010 President Jonathan
had to take over because of the death of his
boss and under the constitution once the
president dies the vice president takes over.”
He maintained that the debate over the
eligibility of President Jonathan was
unnecessary and stressed that taking over and
completing the tenure of a deceased elected
public office holder was not the same as a new
mandate.
“The first time he (Jonathan) contested election
on his own as Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was on
the April 16, 2011 and he won the election. He
got sworn in on May 29, 2011. So, from May
29, 2011 President Jonathan started his first
tenure as President of Nigeria which means he
is now qualified, I repeat, qualified if he wants
to contest election in 2015.
“If the good people of Nigeria accept and vote
for him, that will wind up his eight years as his
own personal mandate from Nigerians,” he
said.
On the issue of zoning, Alhaji Gwaska said that
was the arrangements of the respective
political parties and had nothing to do with the
Nigerian constitution.