The presidential candidates of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Wednesday made good their threat to boycott the debate organised by the Nigeria Election Debate Group (NEDG).

Effectively, President Goodluck Jonathan, the candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ended up debating with himself as it became more of a question-and-answer session, devoid of the usual brickbats and comparison of ideas advanced by opposing candidates.

The debate, organised by NEDG, was supported by the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE).

Malam Nuhu Ribadu (ACN), Malam Ibrahim Shekarau (ANPP) and Major General Muhammadu Buhari (CPC) decided to boycott the debate because of Jonathan’s absence at the one organised by NN24 TV two weeks ago without any apology.

In the main, Jonathan promised that there would be no hiding place for corrupt government officials and listed agriculture, power and education as his priorities.

He explained why he did not attend the first TV debate, saying there was communication gap between him and the organisers.

He said in the first place, he was outside the country on the Friday the debate took place.

He further said that another reason why he did not attend the debate was because the reach of the television station that organised the debate was not as wide as that of NEDG.

“I am not afraid of any debate,” he said, challenging the other presidential candidates to another debate.

He said that more than 10 groups invited him for presidential debate but “there was no luxury of time”.

Jonathan, who reiterated his determination to tackle crime and corruption head on if elected president, said: “If you commit any crime, there would be no sparing anybody. If you are involved in any crime, there would be no sacred cow. I will not spare you. The law will take its course.”

Answering questions on corruption, Jonathan said he would lead by example as he had done in the past.

According to him, “I don’t believe in godfatherism. Most of the political appointments so far made are not persons known to me before they were appointed. The Minister of Finance, the Chairman of INEC... I have never interacted with them before they were appointed.”

He pledged to strengthen the existing anti-graft agencies in the country, as a veritable way of improving on the anti-corruption drive of the Federal Government, stating further: “I will not interfere; I will give free hand in all matters of investigation against any government official. I will obey the rule of law and I will make sure that all agencies of anti-graft are properly exposed for efficiency.”

According to him, it is because of this transparency that some agencies of government along with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are currently being audited by external auditors.

The president explained that for any leader to succeed, he must be able to make some personal sacrifices, saying that is why he had refused to interfere in the politics of his home state, Bayelsa. He urged Nigerian leaders to lead by example.

If elected president, he said, he would continue where he stopped on power and energy generation, with the belief that both are the engine room to transform the Nigerian economy.

According to the president: “If given the chance, I will work as I have been doing to stabilise the power situation in the country and this will go a long way in tackling the unemployment problem in the country. A stable power supply is necessary for the transformation in the country.”

The president pledged that his administration would be based on merit as he would not discriminate against any Nigerian, while promising that he would, without hesitation, sign the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill into law once it is presented to him for his assent.

The president, who decried the mono-product of the Nigerian economy, pledged diversification through aggressive pursuit of mechanised agriculture, explaining that jobs would be created for the teeming youths.

On the state of the Nigerian refineries, he said at least all of them are working at 60 per cent installed capacity, though he said it was not enough as his administration was working to ensure the refineries are working at full capacity.

He denied that the budgets were barely implemented at 50 per cent, stating that the processes of budget implementation are cumbersome, but notwithstanding that, the yearly budget implementation had risen to over 80 per cent, especially with the extension of the budget year to March every year.

Speaking on his personal agenda for Nigeria, Jonathan said: “I will run an open government. I am not shying away from any debate. We will run a collective government for the purpose of transforming this country, so as to give hope for the hopeless. The issue of referring to Nigeria as a potentially great county will be a thing of the past, as we shall transform Nigeria to become a great country. Electricity shall be taken for granted and the basic needs to guarantee the standard of living will be provided.”

He urged Nigerians to stand up for transformation.
The debate was attended by almost all the members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and chief executives of Federal Government agencies as well as the Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Dalhatu Tafida, his deputy, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, and all members of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC).