President Jonathan Asks Media to Support Him in Writing New Constitution

President Goodluck Jonathan has asked owners of Nigerian media to support his project of drafting a new constitution for Nigeria.

According to Premium Times, President Jonathan, assisted by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Reuben Abati, held a closed-door meeting with Nigerian media moguls on April 10 at the Banquet Hall of the State House.

Owners of Nigerian newspapers, magazines, radio- and TV stations were present at the meeting.

A source privy to the meeting said the President wanted to ally himself with the media. In order to suppress the possible negative reactions, he asked them to help censor reporting of the project. Jonathan hinted that the current constitution is at the root of Nigeria's problems but did not disclose the specific changes he wants to introduce. He also did not explain why he is not comfortable with the ongoing constitutional amendment being undertaken by the National Assembly.

It would be recalled that in March, the President has already called on the Senate to empower him to come up with a new constitution. The bid, however, failed to garner support and was withdrawn.

Some also indicate that President Jonathan might be paving ground to ensure a two-year extension of his tenure which ends on May 29, 2015.

Source: Legit.ng