2015 not on Jonathan’s agenda – Okupe

September 12, 2012 by Olusola Fabiyi and Temitayo Famutimi  

 

Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe
| credits: pointblanknews.com

Contesting the 2015 presidential election is not on President Goodluck Jonathan’s agenda, says his aide, Dr. Doyin Okupe.

Okupe, who is Senior Special Assistant to  Jonathan on Public Affairs, also said buying generators will soon be a waste of money.

 He said this on Tuesday  during a public affairs programme on Channels Television monitored by our correspondent in Lagos.

Asked if the President’s silence on his endorsement by some South-East leaders for the 2015 presidential election during his  visit to Anambra State recently meant that he had accepted to run, Okupe said the “2015 election was not on his mind”.

He said, “The endorsement in Anambra came out of spontaneous effusion from the mind of the people and it was out of appreciation for what he had  done and achieved and this is not something we can actually condemn.

“His silence does not mean he has accepted to run. As a matter of fact the issue of 2015 is not on his mind or agenda and he kept silent in order not to discourage those who support him.

“Besides, only God, the will of the people of Nigeria and President Jonathan’s performance will determine what will happen in 2015.”

Okupe said the improvement  in the power sector in the last few weeks  was a testimony to  the efforts being made in the sector.

He said, “If you are trying to buy a generator, don’t try it because between now and December power situation in the country will improve so much that the number of hours Nigerians will enjoy daily without interruption will be approaching 16 hours.

“For now over 60 per cent of Nigerians are enjoying the dividends of the transformational agenda in the power sector which was conceived some 15 months ago. The remaining 40 per cent will be reached soon.”

Okupe also told our correspondent in Abuja that “from December, power generating in the country is going to reach 7,000 megawatts”.

He added, “You can see that power is going to increase drastically that we may not need generators in our homes and offices anymore.”

Okupe also blamed “political jobbers” and the opposition for  fuelling the 2015 elections debate.

He said, “It is unfortunate that those who lost in the last elections  and the political jobbers are the ones encouraging serious politicking for the 2015 general elections.

“For example, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change  has already declared to run in 2015 barely one year after he lost the last election.We see members of the opposition, crisscrosing and going over all the place trying to form a union all in preparations for the election that is still three years ahead.

“I see this as the Nigerian phenomenon because most of our politicians are quite jobless and really don’t have much to do and live day in day out on politics.”

SOURCE: The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper12 September 2012.