Jonathan vows to punish wrongdoings

ABUJA — President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, vowed that never again shall wrongdoing among Nigerians go unpunished, warning that government was set to make the business of impunity unattractive in the country.
According to the President, perpetrators of criminality in the society will be identified and punished to avoid the development of a culture of impunity.
The president, who spoke when a delegation of Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA, led by its President, Rev. Anthony Farinto, paid him a courtesy call at the State House, Abuja, vowed to jail anyone that increased election figures in the next election.
Responding to a call on government to take radical steps to ensure that individual votes counted in 2011, the president said perpetrators of electoral offences, such as “changing figures of votes cast,” which is forgery, will face the full wrath of the law, since “any crime that goes unpunished leads to a culture of impunity, which does not augur well for law and order.”
President Jonathan re-stated his commitment to the conduct of free and fair elections in 2011, adding that “until people can elect those they want as their leaders, democracy will not take root in Nigeria.”
Clarifying his position on the militants and anti-social conduct in the Niger Delta, the president said the genuine militants, who had embraced amnesty, were being taken care of, noting that all those who have engaged in criminality would be treated as criminals.

Jonathan commended ECWA for its role in partnering with government in educational, health and rural development and congratulated the church for celebrating their centenary this year.  He also thanked them for praying for peaceful elections and supporting the government.
Earlier, Rev. Farinto, ECWA President, had called for laws criminalizing electoral malpractices, adding that “the current situation whereby some state governors, federal and state lawmakers occupy office for about three and a half years only to be rooted out of office by competent courts is definitely not good for our democracy.”
He commended Jonathan’s commitment to free and fair elections in 2011, his determination to improve power supply and establishment of six new federal universities.
The ECWA President expressed concern at the incessant religious crises in the North, and called for a serious check on electoral malpractices, as well as for a return of mission schools taken over by government to their original owners.