President Goodluck Jonathan, I’ll win presidential election

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday expressed confidence that he will win the presidential election and be sworn-in as President come May 29.

Jonathan, who  stated this at the opening of the plenary  session of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria (OLQN) Pro-Cathedral, Abuja, maintained that despite his involvement in the presidential election, he would guarantee credible and internationally acceptably elections.

“The issue is not whether a person is contesting or not but whether that person is committed. I assure you of my commitment to a free and fair election,” he said.

The president lamented that Nigeria has not been able to occupy its pride of place in the international community because of the country’s inability to conduct credible elections in the past.

He urged the religious leaders not to “hesitate to guide us and not necessarily abuse us because we are ready to do our best to ensure that Nigeria returns to the part of greatness.”

Speaking on State-Church relationship, the president said “It is God himself that instituted the state and therefore the state cannot do without the Church. Where the people of God hold forth, God will always give them the strength to do their work. For us to make meaningful impact in evangelism, we must eschew bitterness, in fighting, differences, and personal idiosyncrasies but let us rather dwell in unity so that we maybe one just as the Father is one.”

He called on Christians not to be discouraged by the various forms of unrest and persecution.

The president urged the Catholic bishops to continue to “keep praying for Nigeria, keep praying for me and keep praying for peaceful elections in Nigeria so that God will give us a Nigerian of our dream.”

In his sermon, the Catholic archbishop of Abuja John Onaiyekan urged authorities responsible for conducting and supervising elections to “do their work and be seen to be doing it in the spirit of truth and justice. INEC at all level should be fair and just umpires of electoral process. The security agents should promote law and order and not turn themselves into forces of violence and disorder. The judiciary should indeed be the last hope of those seeking for justice and carry out their work without fear or favour.”