2015: North plotting fresh crisis against Jonathan —Group

THE Southern Mandate, a coalition of socio-political groups, on Sunday, raised the alarm that a fresh plot by some northern leaders and  the elite to oust President Goodluck Jonathan from office at all cost in 2015 will plunge the nation into crises.

Reacting to the resolutions at a meeting of some northern groups, including the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), the Northern Union (NU), the Arewa Reawakening Forum (ARF), the Project (ARDP), and the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) held on Friday in Kaduna, the group described the north’s resolve that Jonathan’s re-election would not be in its interest as myopic and selfish.

The northern groups had reportedly insisted at the meeting that the region must produce the president in 2015, while blaming the disunity and crises in the area on the second term ambition of President Jonathan.

“Our position is very clear on this renewed demand. There was an agreement on rotating the presidency and now, we want to warn that if the parties to the pact fail to adhere to it, the North will use its numerical strength to ensure that power returns to it in 2015. That is the position arrived at the meeting,” one of the participants was quoted as saying.

But in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja and signed by its National Coordinator, Mr Tito Zuokumor, the Southern Mandate said the renewed move by the north was aimed at setting the nation on fire and forcing President Jonathan out of office by next year.

While noting that the division and crises in the North, including the Boko Haram insurgency, predated the Jonathan presidency, the group said rather than seeking for a culprit, northern leaders should bury their heads in shame for their failure to provide purposeful leadership while they held on to political power for over three decades.