2011 Presidency: South East Governors Fail To Endorse Jonathan

PHOTO: R-L; SOUTH EASTERN STATE GOVERNORS; IKEDI OHAKIM (IMO STATE); MARTIN ELECHI (EBONYI STATE); AND SULLIVAN CHIME (ENUGU STATE), DURING A SOLIDARITY VISIT TO PRESIDENT JONATHAN IN ABUJA AFTER HE WAS SWORN IN AS PRESIDENT A FEW MONTHS BACK.

San Francisco, August 22, (THEWILL) – Governors of Nigeria’s South Eastern states after a four-hour meeting in Enugu, Enugu State said they would not support Jonathan until he declares his bid for the 2011 election. The governors also would not publicly endorse any candidate for president in the 2011 presidential election until all aspirants have declared their bid.

Chairman of the Forum of South East Governors and Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi declared the stand of the governors after the meeting saying, "Until he (Jonathan) makes his intention known, then we will decide whether we will support him or not."

Obi added that, "We are not against anybody, but what we are saying is that we’ll only make our support known when all the aspirants have declared. We are working for the interest of the region and not for our individual interests.

"This is the first time we are having this kind of unity and it is our hope to continue to work together. For now, we are not ready to support or endorse anybody, until we see somebody whose programmes are tailored to addressing the marginalization plaguing the zone. As it is expected of us, we are committed in our support for the president in his avowed commitment to giving the country a new direction," the Chairman of the Forum assured.

President Jonathan has said he would make his intention know sometime around the first week of September according to multiple Peoples Democratic Party sources.