President Goodluck jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan and his
family members have started moving their personal belongings out of the
Presidential Villa, Abuja, few days after the President lost his
re-election bid, Saturday PUNCH can authoritatively report.
Our correspondent sighted some buses
loaded with travel bags moving out of the President’s official residence
at about midday on Friday.
One of the buses, a white 18-seater
Hiace bus marked PF 6244 AL, was still being loaded with bags of
different shades and sizes at the time of filing this report.
It was not clear at press time where the buses were heading for.
A source said the early removal of the
personal effects of the first family might have been necessitated by the
need for the renovation of the residence ahead of the May 29 handover
date.
For renovation work to commence on time, the President may have to be operating from outside the residence in the days ahead.
Saturday PUNCH also learnt that
the Presidency had commenced a discreet investigation into how a
recording of the telephone call by the President to Maj. Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari (retd.) on March 31, congratulating him on his victory at the
last Saturday’s presidential election was leaked.
The recording which revealed details of what transpired between the two leaders went viral on the Internet on Thursday.
The audio of the conversation credited
to one ENDS.ng @EveryNigerian was titled, “Historic congratulatory call
from President Goodluck Jonathan to President-elect Muhammadu Buhari on
March 31, 2015.”
A government official, who pleaded
anonymity, told our correspondent on Friday that the Presidency was
embarrassed by the leaked recording.
While saying that a thorough
investigation is underway, the security source said the first step was
to ascertain whether the recording was leaked from the Presidency or was
made public from the President-elect’s camp.
He said it was only if it was discovered
that the recording was leaked from the Presidency that further
investigation would be conducted to ascertain those behind it in order
to mete out appropriate punishment.
He, however, refused to talk on how long the investigation will take.
“Definitely, unauthorised release of a
raw recording of the President’s telephone conversation, if from our
(Presidency’s) end is a security breach that cannot go without being
investigated,” he said.
The President also promised on Friday to
break his silence on his experience in office and other sundry issues
at the appropriate time.
He, however, did not give any indication on when the appropriate time will be.
Jonathan made the promise when State
House correspondents approached him for interview at the end of the Good
Friday Service organised by the Aso Villa Chapel.
“Don’t worry; I will talk to you at the
appropriate time,” the President said amid smile as he made his way from
the chapel to his official residence.
He was accompanied to the three-hour
service that featured the Seven Words of Christ on the Cross by Governor
Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, and the Executive Secretary, Nigerian
Christians Pilgrims Commission, Mr. John Kennedy-Okpara.
The seven short exhortations that
accompanied the seven lessons all centred on the sacrifice the preachers
said Jonathan made to keep the county united.
They likened Jonathan’s decision to
concede defeat in the last Saturday’s presidential election and
congratulate the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the
All Progressives Congress to the sacrifice Jesus Christ made to save
mankind.
All the preachers agreed that the bold step taken by the President at the appropriate time was commendable.
They urged him to remain focused because his future is in the hands of God.
“This man (Jonathan) said here that he
is the most criticised President and he prophesied that by the time he
will be leaving, he will be the most celebrated President. That has come
to pass with the way he is being celebrated worldwide for conceding
defeat,” one of the clergymen who led intercessory prayers said.
The service also featured renditions of
special hymns as well as intercessory prayers for the President, for
peace and for the country at large.
Apart from Dickson and Kennedy-Okpara, the Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission, Mrs. Joan Ayo; Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria, Mr. Ima Niboro; and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Ambassador Godknows Igali, also attended the service.
Wife of the President, Patience; and his
mother, Eunice, were however absent. Both of them have hitherto been
accompanying Jonathan to such service.
The poorly-attended service saw only the first three rows of both sides of the chapel occupied by worshippers.
Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule
Lamido, on Thursday evening admitted that the Peoples Democratic Party
had not been able to properly manage its successes.
He said in the last 16 years of being in charge of the country, the party made what he described as “very very costly mistakes.”
Lamido made this position known to State
House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President
Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The governor, whose state is one of the
states where Jonathan lost the March 28 presidential election, however
did not give details of the mistakes he claimed the party made.
He said, “I am sure if you know the
party’s history, what it went through in the last 16 years, it has the
capacity to bounce back.
“And more with the elections with pains and the anger, PDP made some mistakes.
“I have been saying so, the party made
very very costly mistakes and we have not been able to properly manage
our successes. But to me, I don’t think quitting PDP is the answer.”
Reacting to the result of the election
that produced Buhari as the President-elect, the governor said whoever
becomes the President is a Nigerian President and not a President for a
particular region. On the belief that PDP governors who lost their
states to opposition did not work hard enough, Lamido warned against
going into blame game.
“We won’t go into blame game. In what
way will this blame change the attitude of the crowd? Leadership is a
very huge burden and is normal for followership to stick in other to
look at things from their own perspective,” he said.
Lamido said Nigerians had spoken in very loud and unmistaken ways and so their choice and rights should be respected.
He commended Buhari for his hard-earned victory, while adding that the victory belongs to the nation.
“We praise Buhari for being able to take
the ticket from the PDP even though I am not happy, but it’s Nigeria
that won, not Buhari.
“None of them lost but Nigeria won and enough of the anxiety, enough of the worry and the fear in Africa,” he added.
While admitting that there is a tendency
of the bandwagon effect of the presidential and National Assembly
elections rubbing off on the April 11 governorship election, the
governor said it was up to PDP leaders to work.
Buhari defeated Jonathan in the March 28 presidential election believed to be the keenest in the political history of Nigeria.
Though pockets of violence were recorded
in some polling units in the country, the presidential election was
adjudged to be credible.
President Jonathan had congratulated
Buhari on his victory in the poll. He was also said to have asked the
Peoples Democratic Party not to challenge the outcome of the poll at the
election petition tribunal.
Two days before the conduct of the
election, Jonathan and Buhari were made to renew their peace accord they
signed on February 14 which committed them to credible and
violence-free election.
The renewing of the peace accord was initiated by the Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar-led National Peace Committee on 2015 Elections.
President Jonathan had, however, met with some members of the House of Representatives elected on the PDP platform.
It was learnt that the meeting was part of the efforts aimed at resolving the post-primaries crisis in the party.
It was further learnt that the meeting
was also meant to avert the impeachment moves against the President by
some aggrieved lawmakers.
The meeting which was held inside the
new Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja was also attended by
the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu; and the National
Deputy Chairman, Uche Secondus.
The lawmakers were led to the meeting by the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha; and the Majority Leader, Mulikat Adeola-Akande.
Apart from Ihedioha who was driven to
the venue in his official car, others were driven to and from the venue
in two Coaster buses.
None of them spoke with journalists after the meeting.
The President later met with security
chiefs in continuation of efforts to tackle insecurity currently being
witnessed in parts of the country.
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