The Federal Government said in Abuja on Friday that all groups clamouring for the return of President Goodluck Jonathan were independent and did so voluntarily without government funding.

The Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Prof. Rufai Alkali, told a news conference neither the presidency nor any government agency funded the groups.

Alkali, who used the occasion to intimate the public on an upcoming national summit for all Goodluck Support Groups (GSG), said the clarification had become imperative to clear insinuations in some quarters.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we want to make it abundantly clear that contrary to popular but misleading perceptions, the activities of all the support groups are entirely voluntary.

“They have no inputs in terms of funding from the presidency.

“It is in this regard that all support groups are expected to bear full responsibility for the transportation, accommodation and welfare of their delegates to this summit,” Alkali said.

According to the National Coordinator of the GSG, the summit is not a campaign rally but a rally to meet all the 8,000 GSGs and gauge their level of commitment.

“In a bid to ensure that all GSGs spanning the length and breadth of the country are properly harmonised, we decided to invite their representatives to a national summit.

“This national summit, which is a celebration of the core values that bind all Nigerians as one people, united for peace, stability and progress of our dear country, shall take place on 16 September.

Speaking on the #BringBackGoodluck2015 posters, Alkali said some groups could be over exuberant but things had to be done in order.

“We understand that there is excitement, there’s exuberance, everybody wants to be seen but if you must do something for the president, it must be done properly,” he said.