February 22, 2015 – President Goodluck Jonathan today described the idea of Interim National Government speculated by many in the wake of recent postponement of elections as treasonable.
The President who was addressing a conference of Catholic Bishops in Abuja said there is no way that Jonathan who was given a clear mandate by the people will contemplate heading an interim national government.
“There is no way that Goodluck Jonathan who was elected by the people with a clear mandate will now go and head an interim government without a mandate.
“So the only interim government that anybody can contemplate is a military government which of course will not be accepted by because ECOWAS in the first place will not accept it hence we fought Burkina Faso, the AU will not accept, the UN will not accept it and Nigeria will be a pariah state in this present state. So insinuation about interim national government is treasonable and people are not supposed to talk about it”, the President said.
We cannot afford that, and my conviction is that election will be conducted scheduled by INEC.
Earlier, Bishop of Abuja Catholic Diocese, Cardinal, John Onaiyekan said that the president has often reinstated his commitment to a free and fair election and hopes his supporters will not poison his mind this time around.