Fasheun, who is also the founder of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), in an interview with a senior correspondent of Vanguard, stated his unwavering support for President Jonathan¡¯s re-election bid.
OPC leader, Dr. Fredrick Fasheun
He expressed the belief that President Jonathan is a true Nigerian who knows the needs of the country and the people.
Fasheun described Jonathan as a true democrat whose record will speak for him on Saturday, March 28, when the presidential elections will be conducted, and spoke about the UPN, the OPC and other pressing national issues that needed clarification.
Full excerpts from the interview:
Whatis your true stand on this election. I asked because recently, it was rumoured that your organization is in support of President Jonathan?
There are only two people to vote for in this election. So, every Nigerian has a chance to either take A or B. I don¡¯t want one so, I am left with the other choice and that is why I chose to support Jonathan. I was not comparing Jonathan with anybody because, there is nobody, past or present to compare him with in performance, transformation, democracy. I find him an addict to democracy and that is the type of person we want now to lead Nigeria. And as an intellectual, I think he knows what Nigeria and Nigerians need. He has been working on education and he has founded about 14 universities in four years.
He has been building schools forAlmajaris, he has improved on agriculture, he has improved on the economy. When he came in, the economy was nothing to write home about but he has transformed the economy of this nation under four years. Now, the nation¡¯s economy is the first in Africa and he had done that in four years without jailing anybody for writing the truth.
East west road off the drawing board
We know people who say any journalist that writes the truth that embarrasses the government will be jailed but Jonathan has not done that. He is building roads, airports, railways and bridges for us. The Onitsha bridge has been in existence for a long time and he is building the second Niger bridge. I think that is an achievement.
The east-west road that has been on the drawing board for decades he has built it. He has also resuscitated our dilapidated railway system. He has not convicted anybody since he came in. He said his ambition would not be at the expense of a drop of a Nigerian¡¯s blood while others said that theres is characterized by the mixture of the blood of dogs and baboons.
Somebody who loves Nigerians and somebody who does not bother about Nigeria and the people, which one would you prefer? That is why I chose to support Jonathan.
People think that I chose to support him because I have collected money, at least you are aware that I don¡¯t take money from anybody for anything. We became friends when people started alleging that I collected money from Obasanjo. And Obasanjo himself apologized to me for not deflecting that rumour. I have always challenged Nigerians, that if there is any Nigerian alive that I have taken money from, let him or her come out and tell the Nigerian people and nobody has done that.
But in a situation where your organization, the OPC is against your support, what will you do?
The OPC is not against my support for Jonathan. So there was no such story of OPC protesting against my decision to support Jonathan.
There is rumour that you collected a multi-million Naira contract from Jonathan and that is why you are supporting him?
That is a very ugly rumour. If I¡¯m asked to watch over the life and property along a hundred kilometer worth of pipeline, would it be me, Dr Fasheun that would be physically present at the place to supervise that or would it be some other Nigerians? And if these other Nigerians are youths, don¡¯t they qualify to accept contract from Nigerian government? And that contract was awarded about two weeks ago.
That contract is supposed to have been awarded 3-4 years ago. And as I am talking to you now, there are over three thousand youths along the pipeline. And for the first time, today is the third day they have worked there, there have been no sign of vandalisation since they started work as was in the past when NNPC was losing N7billion every month to vandalisation.
