Igbo leaders expresses support for Jonathan’s 2nd term bid

The Igbo Leaders of Thought, a socio-cultural group, has expressed its support for the return bid of President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term.

In a communiqué after its one-day full session in Enugu on Friday, the group, chaired by Prof. Ben Nwabueze, said it believed that the best interest of the Igbo would be better served if they supported the president.

The group said it took the decision “fully aware that Jonathan’s administration has not seriously addressed the core promises and commitments made to the Igbo during the 2011 election campaign’’.

It said that the interest of the Igbo lay in one united Nigeria under a constitution as the supreme law as well as a government whose powers were limited by a supreme constitution.

The group, whose membership cuts across the various strata of the Igbo, said a Jonathan administration would also engender free mobility of people throughout the country and full residence rights.

Answering reporters’ questions after the session, Nwabueze said it would be a tragedy to shift the elections as being suggested in some quarters.

He said that the only body competent to shift or postpone the elections was INEC, but that its leadership had made it clear that there would be no postponement.

He said the group was opposed to the suggestion and urged the electoral body to continue with its plans for the elections. (NAN)