2015: Jonathan warns politicians against making unguarded statements

The Custodian June 13, 2014 

President Goodluck Jonathan has warned politicians against making unguarded statement that can create unnecessary tension in the country before, during and after the 2015 general elections.
The President handed down the warning in Abuja on Thursday during the maiden All Nigeria Political Parties and Political Stakeholders Summit, organised by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Inter-Party Affairs, and Office of the National Security Adviser to the President.

The theme of the summit is, “Inter-Party Collaboration, National Stability and Democratic Consolidation”.

He noted that Article 7 of the Political Parties Code of Conduct, 2013 warned political parties or candidates against resorting to the use of inflammatory language, provocative actions, images or manifestation that incite violence, hatred, contempt, or intimidation against another party or candidate, or any person or group of persons on grounds of ethnicity, gender or for any other reason.
“However, dear compatriots, the current national political outlook with regards to inter-party collaboration is less than salutary. Indeed, the conduct and utterances of leading politicians at home and abroad are rapidly creating and spreading unnecessary tension in the country”, he said.
He warned that the “unfortunate development plays into the hands of extremist elements waging a vicious campaign of terror against the state”.
The President noted that the recent killings of Nigerians in the Federal Capital Territory, Plateau, Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, as well as the heartless criminal abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok, could be better addressed by a political class united in its commitment to defend the polity irrespective of political differences.
According to him, the fundamentals and core imperatives of defending the state, must not be politicized.

Jonathan said, “We must never give them such opportunity. Our political parties must remain positive and constructive in their engagements as we seek to build virile and stable nation that can compete with other states in the world”.
He warned, “If our state enterprise fails, there is no political party or politician that can stand it. Hence at a time such as this, when our existence as a nation is threatened by anti-democratic forces, we politicians and political parties must rise to the higher moral grounds in defence and protection of our existence as one nation and one people”.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had deplored the incessant changing of political parties by politicians, branding such act as “political nomadism”.