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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

2015: Nobody’s ambition can divide Nigeria – Clark

Edwin-Clark

ABUJA- AHEAD of 2015 Presidential election, former Federal Commissioner for Information and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark yesterday said that ambition of any Nigeria for that exalted position will not divide Nigeria.
This is coming barely four days after the South South leaders, Elders and Stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP at the end of a meeting convened by Chief Clark at his Asokoro residence vowed that as a group, it will resist any move to stop President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2015 Presidential election.
Speaking yesterday at his Asokoro residence in Abuja when about 15 women from South-West visited him to felicitate with him on his 86th birthday and also drum up support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term, the Elder statesman noted that Nigerians should go and sleep as 2015 will not divide the country in spite of the fact that some Nigerians in some parts of the country were heating the polity drumming for war.
According to Chief Clark, “If Lord Lugard, a mere administrative officer, who later became Governor-General, saw the wisdom in uniting North and South, then nobody’s personal ambition can divide this country.
“I’m happy that you support my son in 2011 and you have vowed to support him in 2015.
“Nobody, because of his personal ambition, should divide us. We will all remain together. Remember we in Delta and Edo States were part of South-West before and I know that we would continue to be one.”
Haling the leader of the delegation, Mrs Bola Doherty, the South South Leader who noted that he was happy that Doherty prayed for him to live long, however said that only God could give good health and long life, even as he stressed that he was happy to have married from the South West geo-political zone of the country.
Extolling the value of the Yoruba people, Chief Clark who noted that the people of the region remained the most educated and sophisticated in the country, said, “My good daughters from South-West, you know that I married a lady from Egba.
“Today is a happy day in my life. This is a country where everybody loves each other. There is happiness and there is hope. You came uninvited and unsolicited from your states to visit me.
“In your speech, you said the Olubadan is 99 years, and I’m happy that you prayed for me to also grow older.
“Yoruba people are the most educated and sophisticated. When my friend, Chief Abraham Adesanya died, I said the leadership of the Yoruba would not be decided by wealth.
“Nobody can impose himself on the people there because these people are the most educated and sophisticated in the country.”
Earlier in her remarks, Doherty, whose speech was punctuated with songs, however extolled the values of Clark, stressing that God preserved him to serve as a backbone to the President, adding that members of her group had come to pay homage to the elder statesman as well as  assure him of their support for President Jonathan and for 2015.
She said, “We are here to felicitate with Chief Clark on his recent birthday and we pray he would not burry any of his children.
“He is a blessing to his and the present generation. We are also here to pledge our support for President Jonathan concerning his 2015 presidential ambition.
“God has ordained Jonathan and he is His choice for the nation. This is because, except God builds the house, the builder builds in vain.
“God is with the President and that is the reason He blessed the President with Clark. The person that God has chosen this time is President Jonathan and we know that anybody that tries to pull him down is in the hands of God.”

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