Abuja, Nigeria - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday visited the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, where he commiserated with the victims of the Friday bomb blast at the premises of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Suleija, northern Niger State and expressing sadness that “anti-social elements” could cut up “young people in the prime of their lives.” Jonathan told journalists after the visit that as far as Saturday’s National Assembly elections are concerned, “we all are happy that despite some setbacks that were witnessed generally, Nigerians are happy that at least, they can decide who will represent them or who will govern them in the Senate.”

The President, who noted that while the presidential, governorship and state houses of assembly elections will come in the next two weeks, said the way the last elections were conducted has “given us hope. And of course, we have even improved. I believe that by 2015 when elections are conducted in this country, some of the hiccups we witnessed on Saturday would have abated itself. I also believe that any subsequent election, one coming up this Saturday and upper Tuesday will definitely improve on this. So, for that, I'm quite happy.”

He lamented that “having inspected the hospital wards and having seen young people who were serving their nation just caught up in these dastardly acts by some anti-social elements, I feel sad. These are young people in the prime of their lives, the hope and future of Nigeria. For anybody targeting the youths is targeting the country. They don't mean well for the nation. Well, in all societies, we have such people.”

Jonathan pledged that for the perpetrators of the blasts, “as a government, we will make sure that we look out for them and God's willing, we would get them, if not all, some of them. And they would face the law.”

For the injured, he said the government will take care of “all their medical bills.”

The President added that “by the time they are okay, we will look at their conditions. The ones that are having pressure to take care of themselves, with what I have seen, government will definitely assist.”

Pana 11/04/2011