President Goodluck Jonathan has assured Nigerians that he has no intention of heading an interim administration, insisting that “insinuations about a plan for an interim government is tantamount to treason.”

The President, who was addressing Catholic Bishops and other congregation at a church service to mark the beginning of this year’s Catholic Bishops Conference in Abuja on Sunday, stressed that there was no such provision in the Nigerian constitution.

He said: “There is no way Goodluck Jonathan, who was elected by the people, with the clear mandate, will now go and head an interim government without a mandate. So, the only interim government that anybody can contemplate is a military government, which of cause will not be accepted.

“ECOWAS in the first place, will not accept it and that is why we forced Burkina Faso to take the decision they took. AU will not accept it. The UN will not accept it and Nigeria cannot be a pariah state at this present generation.

“Any insinuation about an interim government, to me, is treasonable and people suppose not to talk about it.

“My conviction and very strongly too is that elections would be conducted, as scheduled by INEC.”

President Jonathan thanked Nigerians for showing understanding, when the date of the general elections was shifted.

He said that the elections would have lacked credibility if they were conducted as scheduled on February 14 and 28, stressing that he could not, because of his personal interest, do anything that would jeopardise the Nigerian nation.

On insurgency, the President told the congregation that the nation would soon be stable as Nigerian soldiers were regaining territories in the north-east that were in the hands of Boko Haram.

He thanked the Catholics and all Christians for their prayers at a time insurgency is raging in Nigeria.

The Catholic Bishops Conference plenary usually commences with a church service, with Catholic Bishops from all parts of Nigeria present.

Jonathan and other top government functionaries were present as special guests.

This year’s theme centers on “Family as the Fulcrum of Society and any Nation”.

The archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, told the gathering that a stable family had its impact on the nation no matter the differences.

On politics, he said politicians should serve for the good of all, shunning hate campaigns and lies, stressing the need for stakeholders to ensure that the electorates trust in the electoral process.

There were prayers for the church, the governments, those in leadership position, for a peaceful election in Nigeria, the poor and the needy and the internally displaced persons scattered all over the country as a result of the insurgency.

•Adapted from a Channels TV report. Photo shows President Jonathan.

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