President Goodluck Jonathan has said that it is not a crime for him to run for second term in 2015 if he so desires.
According to him, he has the constitutional right to contest for a second term in office as an elected president.
He said this on Sunday midnight during a meeting with Nigerian Professionals in New York, United States.
Jonathan, who is yet to publicly declare his 2015 ambition for a re-election said he wouldn’t want to be distracted by the noise of the forthcoming elections.
He also urged politicians in Nigeria to drop the idea of do or die approach in politics and allow him to concentrate on his Transformation Agenda.
Jonathan noted that Nigerians hold the power to oust anybody they are not comfortable with during elections.
According to him, political leaders in the country must be mindful of their actions or utterances in order not to undermine the sovereignty of Nigeria.
Jonathan said, “Already we have a constitution that makes provision for maximum of eight years for anyone who wants to become a president or a governor.
“There is no president or governor that all citizens can vote for, but at the end of the election, if somebody emerges, you must allow the person to work. If you love your country, you would want your country to work.
“That does not mean that you will not vote against the person if you don’t like the way he works, but you must allow him to work first.
“No matter how you feel about the political situation, consider the interest of your country first before yourself. If you are struggling to enter a house you must not put dynamite to destroy the house.
“By the time you get there, there will be no house for you to stay. “So first and foremost, we must collectively build our country.
“Don’t bother about who is there now because power is transient, very temporary, “the President added. On corruption, he said “So many people are saying we are not doing well in fighting corruption and before you say that, there must be a parameter for judging us. What are the yardsticks they are using to judge us?” He asked.
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