'I won’t run government like a zoo' - Jonathan tells Nigerians

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday promised that he would not run a government of intimidation if re-elected for the second term during the February 14 presidential election.

He said he would run a government that would allow Nigerians to express their minds without any fear of intimidation.

Jonathan made the promise during the Peoples Democratic Party presidential rally held at the Metropolitan Square, Ilorin, Kwara State.



He said he would not preside over an administration under which Nigerians would be thinking they are in a zoo, where small animals would be afraid of the big ones.

He said, “My message to you is that we will work with you to ensure that Nigerians are free.

“We will ensure that you are not governed by intimidation.

“You must be able to express yourself without fear of intimidation. That is why I signed the Freedom of Information Act.

“We will not allow a situation where Nigerians will think they are in a zoo, where small animals are afraid of the big ones.”

He said his administration was forming a government of young minds because of its conviction that Nigeria belonged to the youth.

He said since the inception of his administration, he had shown commitment to repositioning the country.

The President said his administration had done so much that he would not disappoint Nigerians.

He mentioned some of the areas his administration had made giant leaps to include railway, health care, agriculture and the economy.

Jonathan recalled that the nation’s economy had grown under his watch to become the largest in Africa.

This, he said, was not achieved by chance.

He said the feat was achieved by the commitment of the economic team that was working day and night.

The President said world bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Cable News Network and others had spoken in support of the visible growth in the nation’s economy.

He wondered if Nigerians who criticised his government’s economic policies were more brilliant than the world bodies.

President Jonathan warned such people to stop deceiving Nigerians.

Earlier, Vice President Namadi Sambo had said that the present administration had transformed the nation’s economy to become the best in Africa.

He said the administration transformed the power sector to a stage that the nation now generates over 4,000MW contrary to the about 2,000MW at the inception of their administration.

He also noted that the Federal Government had reformed the transport sector by adding 20,000km of tarred roads to the nation’s road network.

In the education sector, Sambo recalled that 12 federal universities were established by the administration, saying Jonathan deserved a second term.

The National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, regretted that some people were trying to rubbish the President’s achievements for political gains.

He said the President had performed better than all his predecessors.

“The President has performed more than the others that have come before him. No Nigerian leader before him has done as much as he is doing,” Mu’azu said.

It can be recalled that President Jonathan holds a PhD degree in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt.