Yesterday, there were reports that President Jonathan’s major fianancier and Chief Executive officer of Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, Ifeanyi Ubah burst into tears at the presidential villa.They says this happened during president Jonathan’s speech to the members of the Presidential Campaign Organization In excerpts from a new interview with Vanguard ,he talks about the defeat ..
Having spent so much on TAN, do you have regrets that Jonathan didn’t win?
Yes and no. You don’t invest and wish that the investment would go the way this one went. The election has come and gone, I would not like to open the old wounds especially when the main actor in the whole episode has conceded defeat. We have to move ahead at this juncture. We must unite to move Nigeria forward. Jonathan has conceded defeat to General Buhari.
There are insinuations that TAN was funded with government money, others say that you funded TAN with your money. What is the true position?
TAN was not funded with government money. TAN is a Non Governmental Organization (NGO). We have a lot of friends that have been supporting us. Political campaigns cost so much money, so it is natural to expect that we spent good money on our media and grassroots campaign. We are glad that our members and supporters were very supportive in contributing towards these campaigns. I believe that Jonathan is a good man, who meant well for this country, and I supported him. One thing that attracted me so much to Jonathan is the love and passion he has for Nigeria. His humility in conceding defeat shows the extent of his great love and belief in our nationhood. His statesmanship saved our nation from the likelihood of post-election turmoil.
If you are in a boxing ring, and your coach throws in the towel, that is the end of the game. I have chosen to respect his position and indeed that of Nigerians, even though it would have pleased me greatly to see Jonathan win.
What kind of relationship do you envisage between Buhari and Nigerians?
The first publication I made after his victory was to congratulate him. We prayed to God to give him the wisdom, good health to rule Nigeria. If I get to understand General Buhari better than I understand him now, I will be closer to him. If he needs me, I will be there for him. He will be ourPresident. I have always had respect for him. I wish him well. I have an open mind and my doors are always open.
Many are of the view that the Igbo put all their eggs in one basket by solely supportingPresident Goodluck Jonathan and that life in the opposition may not augur well for them What is your take on this?
It was expected that the Igbo will vote for Jonathan. The Igbo had quite a number of opportunities in his administration.
Even though Jonathan did a lot for the Igbo most of the things he did were for the North. The Kashbila Dam is the biggest project handled by Jonathan’s administration and it
was cited in the North. The Abuja and Kaduna railways are also in the North.
Irrespective of that, the Igbo are still appreciative of the things he did for us. Be that as it may, my position is that General Buhari should consider the Igbo and make them his friends and if possible do more than Jonathan did for us.
