President Jonathan warns against negative triumphalism

Read the State House press statement below...

As the nation prepares for Saturday’s governorship and State Assembly elections, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan calls on all Nigerians to remain peaceful, united and law-abiding. The President condemns the very unseemly attempt by some politicians, groups and individuals to intimidate others, heat up the polity and cause public disorder and disaffection in the aftermath of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

President Jonathan is especially concerned about the negative triumphalism that has been put on display by certain elements since March 31 which flies in the face of his personal commitment to post-election peace, unity and national stability.

The President calls on all those, who through their actions and utterances, have been promoting divisiveness, sectionalism and ethnic hatred in the country following the outcome of the March 28 elections to cease and desist from actions that detract from the true spirit and culture of democracy envisioned by patriotic men and women of goodwill in Nigeria.

President Jonathan also condemns the undue harassment of public officials serving under his administration and urges all affected persons to continue to perform their lawful duties without fear. The President cautions that this should be a time for the healing of political wounds in the overriding interest of national unity, stability and progress, not a time for ethnic jingoism and the settling of scores. The Federal Government will not condone any attempt to instigate a crisis in any part of the country in furtherance of personal political ambitions.

President Jonathan assures all Nigerians that his administration remains fully committed to national progress and the entrenchment of the best values of democracy for the good of all Nigerians. He urges Nigerians to go out en-masse once again on April 11 to vote for candidates of their choice in the Governorship and State Assembly elections with the confidence that his administration will do all within its powers to ensure that they do so in peace, without threats, intimidation or violence from any quarters.

Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)
April 7, 2015

gains away by allowing the mistakes of the last weekend to stand on our way to link Lagos effectively

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APC apologises, says Akiolu ‘spoke for himself’ ⌂Back To Homepage Subscribe To RSS Feed APC apologises, says Akiolu ‘spoke for himself’ April 07 15:26 2015 Print This Article Share it With Friends 👤by Fredrick Nwabufo  0 Comments The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos state has apologised to Ndigbo for the statement credited to Rilwan Akiolu, Oba of Lagos, threatening death for any Igbo person resident in Lagos who votes against Akinwumi Ambode, governorship candidate of the APC, on Saturday. While speaking to Igbo chiefs at the weekend, Akiolu placed a curse on the Igbo resident in Lagos who vote Ambode, saying they would “die in the Lagoon”. But in a statement signed by Joe Igbokwe, the state publicity secretary of the APC, the party pleaded with Ndigbo “to bury the hatchet in the interest of peace and harmony, considering the long standing relationship that had existed between the Igbo and the Yoruba since the inception of Nigeria.” “No human being is above mistakes. People can make mistakes and correct it thereafter. The Oba of Lagos can make a mistake and we believe that the statement credited to him was a mistake. If to err is human, we plead with Ndigbo to let the sleeping dog lie,” it said. “After the March 28 2015 presidential election, Ndigbo in Lagos have been trooping into the Lagos APC fold in droves. They have pledged to throw their full weight behind the APC guber candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode. The support was total and unprecedented. You can therefore imagine how we feel as a party when this incident came just few days to the governorship elections. “Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos is not a card-carrying member of APC. He is not a leader in APC. He does not speak for APC. He did not speak for governor Fashola of Lagos state. He did not speak for our national leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He did not speak for the incoming governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode. His Royal Highness is at liberty to speak for himself and he spoke for himself only. Lagos APC appeals to Ndigbo not to take the statement as the position of the party in Lagos. “We passionately appeal to Ndigbo not to carry the statement credited to Oba Akiolu too far so as not to put a knife on things that have held us together for more than 50years now. If out of annoyance you throw your cap away, a mad man will take it and use it forever. “A lot is at stake in Lagos. Lagos has been fair to Ndigbo and Ndigbo have reciprocated by taking Lagos as their home no matter whose ox is gored. Lagos APC believes that Ndigbo will not burn the bridges because of this minor setback. “Lagos APC has worked so hard with other Nigerians to enthrone a government at the centre and we cannot afford to throw all these gains away by allowing the mistakes of the last weekend to stand on our way to link Lagos effectively with the centre. “Our own Oba Rilwan Akiolu’s slip of tongue should not be used as an excuse by Ndigbo to reverse these huge gains. Ndigbo should forgive and forget by voting APC en mass this coming Saturday.” Follow us on twitter @thecableng Copyright 2015 TheCable. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.thecable.ng as the source.

Read more at: http://www.thecable.ng

APC apologises, says Akiolu ‘spoke for himself’ ⌂Back To Homepage Subscribe To RSS Feed APC apologises, says Akiolu ‘spoke for himself’ April 07 15:26 2015 Print This Article Share it With Friends 👤by Fredrick Nwabufo  0 Comments The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos state has apologised to Ndigbo for the statement credited to Rilwan Akiolu, Oba of Lagos, threatening death for any Igbo person resident in Lagos who votes against Akinwumi Ambode, governorship candidate of the APC, on Saturday. While speaking to Igbo chiefs at the weekend, Akiolu placed a curse on the Igbo resident in Lagos who vote Ambode, saying they would “die in the Lagoon”. But in a statement signed by Joe Igbokwe, the state publicity secretary of the APC, the party pleaded with Ndigbo “to bury the hatchet in the interest of peace and harmony, considering the long standing relationship that had existed between the Igbo and the Yoruba since the inception of Nigeria.” “No human being is above mistakes. People can make mistakes and correct it thereafter. The Oba of Lagos can make a mistake and we believe that the statement credited to him was a mistake. If to err is human, we plead with Ndigbo to let the sleeping dog lie,” it said. “After the March 28 2015 presidential election, Ndigbo in Lagos have been trooping into the Lagos APC fold in droves. They have pledged to throw their full weight behind the APC guber candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode. The support was total and unprecedented. You can therefore imagine how we feel as a party when this incident came just few days to the governorship elections. “Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos is not a card-carrying member of APC. He is not a leader in APC. He does not speak for APC. He did not speak for governor Fashola of Lagos state. He did not speak for our national leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He did not speak for the incoming governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode. His Royal Highness is at liberty to speak for himself and he spoke for himself only. Lagos APC appeals to Ndigbo not to take the statement as the position of the party in Lagos. “We passionately appeal to Ndigbo not to carry the statement credited to Oba Akiolu too far so as not to put a knife on things that have held us together for more than 50years now. If out of annoyance you throw your cap away, a mad man will take it and use it forever. “A lot is at stake in Lagos. Lagos has been fair to Ndigbo and Ndigbo have reciprocated by taking Lagos as their home no matter whose ox is gored. Lagos APC believes that Ndigbo will not burn the bridges because of this minor setback. “Lagos APC has worked so hard with other Nigerians to enthrone a government at the centre and we cannot afford to throw all these gains away by allowing the mistakes of the last weekend to stand on our way to link Lagos effectively with the centre. “Our own Oba Rilwan Akiolu’s slip of tongue should not be used as an excuse by Ndigbo to reverse these huge gains. Ndigbo should forgive and forget by voting APC en mass this coming Saturday.” Follow us on twitter @thecableng Copyright 2015 TheCable. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.thecable.ng as the source.

Read more at: http://www.thecable.ng

APC apologises, says Akiolu ‘spoke for himself’ ⌂Back To Homepage Subscribe To RSS Feed APC apologises, says Akiolu ‘spoke for himself’ April 07 15:26 2015 Print This Article Share it With Friends 👤by Fredrick Nwabufo  0 Comments The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos state has apologised to Ndigbo for the statement credited to Rilwan Akiolu, Oba of Lagos, threatening death for any Igbo person resident in Lagos who votes against Akinwumi Ambode, governorship candidate of the APC, on Saturday. While speaking to Igbo chiefs at the weekend, Akiolu placed a curse on the Igbo resident in Lagos who vote Ambode, saying they would “die in the Lagoon”. But in a statement signed by Joe Igbokwe, the state publicity secretary of the APC, the party pleaded with Ndigbo “to bury the hatchet in the interest of peace and harmony, considering the long standing relationship that had existed between the Igbo and the Yoruba since the inception of Nigeria.” “No human being is above mistakes. People can make mistakes and correct it thereafter. The Oba of Lagos can make a mistake and we believe that the statement credited to him was a mistake. If to err is human, we plead with Ndigbo to let the sleeping dog lie,” it said. “After the March 28 2015 presidential election, Ndigbo in Lagos have been trooping into the Lagos APC fold in droves. They have pledged to throw their full weight behind the APC guber candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode. The support was total and unprecedented. You can therefore imagine how we feel as a party when this incident came just few days to the governorship elections. “Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos is not a card-carrying member of APC. He is not a leader in APC. He does not speak for APC. He did not speak for governor Fashola of Lagos state. He did not speak for our national leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He did not speak for the incoming governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode. His Royal Highness is at liberty to speak for himself and he spoke for himself only. Lagos APC appeals to Ndigbo not to take the statement as the position of the party in Lagos. “We passionately appeal to Ndigbo not to carry the statement credited to Oba Akiolu too far so as not to put a knife on things that have held us together for more than 50years now. If out of annoyance you throw your cap away, a mad man will take it and use it forever. “A lot is at stake in Lagos. Lagos has been fair to Ndigbo and Ndigbo have reciprocated by taking Lagos as their home no matter whose ox is gored. Lagos APC believes that Ndigbo will not burn the bridges because of this minor setback. “Lagos APC has worked so hard with other Nigerians to enthrone a government at the centre and we cannot afford to throw all these gains away by allowing the mistakes of the last weekend to stand on our way to link Lagos effectively with the centre. “Our own Oba Rilwan Akiolu’s slip of tongue should not be used as an excuse by Ndigbo to reverse these huge gains. Ndigbo should forgive and forget by voting APC en mass this coming Saturday.” Follow us on twitter @thecableng Copyright 2015 TheCable. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.thecable.ng as the source.

Read more at: http://www.thecable.ng