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Goodluck Jonathan

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan says there are no plans for an interim government in Nigeria, as being speculated, assuring the international community that the May 29 hand over date remained unchanged. The Nigerian President gave the assurance on Monday in a meeting with the European Union observer group led by Mr Santiago Fisas.

President Jonathan assured the group that the May 29 handover date was sacrosanct, saying that those talking about a plan for an interim government were “just being mischievous”.

“There is no room for interim National government as being speculated in some quarters. That is not the agenda of government,” President Jonathan said.

After the meeting, the leader of the EU election observer group, Mr Fisas, told reporters that they were in the presidential villa to exchange views with the president about the elections.

He said that the group had met with the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Mohammadu Buhari.

Earlier, a former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, told a gathering in Ogun State that there was a plan for an interim government, stressing that there was no provision for an interim government in the Nigerian Constitution.

At that gathering, Obasanjo withdrew his membership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.

President Jonathan’s statement apparently was in response to that statement.

After meeting with the EU delegation, President Jonathan also met with the leadership of the Economic Communities Of West African States (Ecowas).

At the meeting, the ECOWAS appealed to Nigerians and all the major gladiators in the Nigeria’s presidential elections to be calm and show understanding and respect to the constitution, as the country prepares for presidential elections.

The President of the Ecowas, Mr Kadre Ouedraogo, made the appeal.

Mr Ouedraogo presented a document he called the findings and recommendations of the commission towards a peaceful conduct of elections.

According to him, the Ecowas has been monitoring situation in Nigeria following the postponement of the election date and has been meeting with the major presidential candidates to intimate them on their findings.  – Channels Television