2015: Buhari is no threat to Jonathan- Onuesoke

Tejiri Ebikeme/Francis Sadhere

Governorship aspirant in Delta State during the 2007 general elections and Country Director, Network For Good Governance, N4GG, Sunny Onuesoke has said that the emergence of General Mohammadu Buhari as the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party in the 2015 general election is not a threat to President Goodluck Jonathan’s chances of winning the election.

Onuesoke said that that Buhari is no match to President Jonathan in the 2015 general election, stressing that Buhari has a lot of questions to answer on so many issues when he was the military head of state.

Onuesoke said this on Tuesday while speaking to our Correspondent at his Warri office.

He said President Jonathan has done a lot more for the country than Buhari, stressing  that Buhari was a more corrupt leader while he was ruling the state and has no moral right to castigate President Jonathan’s administration.

Onuesoke who is also an  environmentalist noted that while  it was not going to be a smooth ride for President Jonathan in the 2015 election, he has the support of majority of Nigerians, especially from the northern elites.

While describing Buhari as an old man with old ideas, Onuesoke said the country needed a President that can unit the country and not a President that is always inciting the people to war.

He called on Nigerians to stand on the part of unity in spite of whatever security challenges they were facing today.

Commenting on the recent statement by the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi who vowed to use other means necessary to win the 2015 presidential election, Onuesoke called for the arrest of Apache, saying that his statement inflammatory and treasonable.

He said he was disappointed with Amaechi for making such statement after he had been a PDP member for six years before defecting to APC.

Speaking on corruption and insecurity in the country, Onuesoke noted that President Jonathan was not the cause of corruption and insecurity in the country, adding that the boko haram insurgency had been their before he became the President.

Speaking on the emergence of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as the gubernatorial candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party in Delta State, Onuesoke said Senator Okowa is a fine politician who is going to transform the state if he eventually becomes the Governor.

While commending the PDP for a transparent Guber primary, Onuesoke said Delta State PDP is the most united party in the country as they had never experienced any post election problems since 1999.

He advised politicians in the country to imbibe the spirit of live and let’s live attitude and be gallant winners and losers.

He called on those that win election to always include the losers in their quest of developing the country, stress that there was nothing wrong if politicians included the opposition in their government.

On the clamor by the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) to produce the next Governor in Delta State, Onuesoke urged the Urhobos to set aside ethnic sentiments and work with other ethnic groups in the state to move the state forward.

Onuesoke called on Nigerians not to  shed blood because of politics, adding that whoever emerges as President or Governor should be accepted by the people.

He also appealed to the media to be objective in their reportage, saying that they should put the unity of the country first as they go about their constitutional duties.