Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to synergise with governors, security chiefs and other stakeholders to de-escalate tension occasioned by the high level of insecurity in the country.
Jonathan made the call when he led a delegation of politicians from Bayelsa on a condolence visit to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa at Government House, Asaba, Delta State, over the recent demise of the governor’s father, Sir Okorie Okowa.
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He said it is unfortunate that school children and many Nigerians were being kidnapped for ransom.
“I believe that with the commitment of the governors and the Federal Government, we will be able to address the issue of insecurity in the country.
“I believe that the President himself is not sleeping and that the governors are not sleeping as well over the insecurity challenge in the country.
“As long as the governors, the President and all the security agencies can work together, Nigeria will be able to cross over this very ugly phase of societal evolution,” he said.
Commending the president over his efforts to tackle insecurity, Jonathan asked Nigerians to join hands in making the country safe for all.
Jonathan dismissed the rumour of his interest in the 2023 presidential election, saying it is speculative.
He pledged to continue to serve God, humanity, Africa and the world to the best of his ability and with all sense of commitment and sincerity.
He lauded Governor Okowa for his “giant strides” in human capital and infrastructural development.
The former President commiserated with the governor on the passage of his father, and urged him and his siblings to continue to promote their father’s enviable records as a way to immortalise him.
Responding, Okowa thanked the former president for identifying with the family on the passage of their patriarch, saying that they were consoled by the fact that their father died in Christ.
He disclosed that there would be a thanksgiving service on August 21, 2021, for his late father, pointing out that the ceremony would be a platform to appreciate God for giving them a good father.
“My father was truly a school teacher and impacted a lot in our various communities and eventually he became a church leader and was very effective in the Anglican Communion.
“He was also a politician; people don’t actually know that but he actually groomed me in my early days in politics and he was always there to offer me advice on what best to do.
“He was truly a strong pillar behind me in my early political days,” the governor said.
