President Goodluck Jonathan has said he is confident of winning the forthcoming presidential elections later this month.
The president said in an interview with television channel, Aljazeera, that he has done enough to guarantee victory for him and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party. He said there was no way he could lose the elections.
“I will not lose the election,” the president said when asked whether the decision to postpone the election was informed by the suspicion that he was afraid of losing if the election was held on the previous date.
Asked again if he would accept defeat and bow out gracefully if he loses, the President declared “I will win the election”.
President Jonathan however said if he loses “by default”, then he will cede power and return to his village.
“If by default somebody (else) wins this election, of course, I will go to my village. This country is not my father’s estate. I want to serve.”
On whether the election would be postponed again, the president said the exercise will be conducted as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
INEC had postponed the general elections originally scheduled for February 14 and 21, to March 28 and April 11.
Linking elections to Boko Haram attacks
The President, who said he did not see why the elections should be postponed again, added that he was impressed with the level of successes recorded by the military in the fight against Boko Haram in the North Eastern part of the country.
Mr. Jonathan said the security agencies were getting signals that politicians were trying to use Boko Haram to disrupt the February 14 elections.
He said that based on the signals they were getting, the security agencies did not want to take any chances and had to demand for the postponement of the elections.
Mr. Jonathan said the security operatives do not guarantee a 100 per cent ouster of Boko Haram from the affected region before elections could be conducted, but want to ensure that their attacks do not disrupt elections.
On the progress report about the exploits of the military, the president said the army was determined to recapture all such territories, assuring that “very soon there will be no part of Nigeria where it will effectively be said this is a BH territory.”
Mr. Jonathan said full territorial recovery did not mean the country would be insulated from terror attacks, pointing out that the government would need to gradually improve on the use of technology and close monitoring to bring down Boko Haram.
“When we take over all the territories they (Boko Haram) are holding, they are becoming weaker.
Now, we will improve our monitoring using superior technology to monitor their activities. Then, we will begin to pick them and, of course, frustrate their activities, over the period, it will go. We cannot live with terror. No, we can’t. We will stop it,” he stated.
Asked if he failed to manage the Boko Haram crisis, the President said the issue did not start with him.
Critics have continue to state that the situation would not have degenerated to the present state where the fate of over 234 young girls would be hanging in the balance if the President was decisive and tackled the crisis with the seriousness of the moment.
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