Reactions have continued to trail the dumping of President Goodluck Jonathan by a strong grass-roots support group in the country, ‘Believe Nigeria Trust Goodluck.’
The mother body of the group, Believe Nigeria Initiative (BNI) has affirmed that the decision to dump President Jonathan for a more credible candidate is in the overall interest of Nigeria’s peace and unity.
According to its Northwest Coordinator, Alhaji Mohammed Arugungu, “Our National Coordinator, Idris Usman is a visionary leader who has led us in the right direction all these past years. So if he and other leaders of the group now feel it is the right thing to do at this point, then it is only pertinent on us, the rest members, to stand by the leadership.
“We have always fought for justice and stood by the side of the masses. We are now more concerned about post-election peace than who may win which elective position. There has to be a country before anyone can aspire to lead or rule. We don’t want a repeat of the 2011 post-election violence that erupted four years ago. We are more committed to achieving sustainable peace than anyone’s political aspiration. So I support the decision of BNI leadership to dump Jonathan at this point. We may not support Buhari or anyone for now, but we will work towards peaceful and credible polls and post-election peace.”
Speaking in the same vein, the BNI Northeast Coordinator, Dauda Gombe said the decision was a welcome development which would help the group to contribute its quota towards putting Nigeria back on the track of development.
According to Dauda, “it is not about President Goodluck Jonathan or Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, but Nigeria as a nation. As a group, we will continue to work for the peace and progress of our country, Nigeria. We will not allow any individual or group, no matter how highly placed, to stand in our way. Nigeria is bigger than any individual.”
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State chapter of BNI has concluded plans to give the National Coordinator, Idris Usman a rosy welcome, even as the members await him to brief them on the decision of the BNI leadership to dump President Goodluck Jonathan at this crucial time.
It would be recalled that the political group of Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko, ‘Believe Nigeria Trust Goodluck,’ which BNI had coordinated until few days ago, had last Thursday concluded plans to officially dump the presidential campaign of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Recall also that Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko had, last September, collapsed his old political force, Iroko Frontiers, to form ‘Believe Nigeria Trust Goodluck’ as part of his efforts and commitment to the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.
While inaugurating the group in September 2014, Governor Mimiko had said the vision of the political group was born out of his commitment to the promotion of good governance and visionary leadership for which President Jonathan stood.
The Ondo governor had promised to oversee the operation of the campaign group to ensure Jonathan’s success in 2015 presidential election, a promise that he may now be finding difficult to keep.
This is, indeed, a trying moment for President Jonathan and Governor Mimiko.
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