Assures Of Winning Over Two-Third Of Votes Across Federation
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says its Presidential flagbearer,
President Goodluck Jonathan will beat the APC candidate, retired Major
General Muhammadu Buhari, fair and square in the north, come February
14, 2015.
The party also said with President Jonathan’s soaring popularity among
the voting population across the country, it would win more than
two-third of the total votes cast as well as the required 25 percent in
all the states of the federation.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh in a statement on Saturday
said President Jonathan will beat Buhari in the north not only because
the PDP controls 12 out of the 19 states of the region but also because
the citizens are pleased with the numerous development projects he
executed in the region.
The party said the various projects and appointments in the north have
placed President Jonathan ahead of Buhari especially following the fact
that the APC presidential candidate never executed any in the region
when he was head of state and has so far failed to articulate an
acceptable blue-print for development.
“Indeed, Nigerians in the north are eager to re-elect President Goodluck
Jonathan come February 14, 2015. Voters in the region appreciate the
direct positive impact of the numerous development projects executed by
the Jonathan administration in all sectors of life.
“They appreciate the fact that recognizing that agriculture is the
mainstay of the northern economy, President Jonathan ensured that out of
the 2.7 million direct farm jobs achieved by his administration, over 2
million are in the north.
“They appreciate the fact that President Jonathan established the
e-wallet system, which eliminated the corruption in the distribution of
fertilizer and other farmputs, making the products directly accessible
to millions of farmers in the region thereby boosting their
productivity. They appreciate the fact that silos are brimming and food
pyramids are returning in the north.
“In education, President Jonathan’s imprint in the north remains
indelible. Today, the once relegated Almajiri boys can now go to school
following the establishment of the Almajiri System of Education, the
first of its kind, with over 150 special schools already built, while
others are nearing completion, a noble idea, General Buhari never
thought of when he was head of state.
“Also, out of the 14 new universities established by President Jonathan,
9 are located in the northern states thereby ensuring that all states of
the region have a federal university. This is in addition to the
establishment of new secondary schools and training of teachers for
quality education in the region.
“Furthermore our citizens in the north are happy with President Jonathan
for his efforts in tackling desertification in the region especially
with the establish of more than 80 km of 15–row Green Belt in addition
to the Presidential Initiative on Afforestation in Kano and 10 other
Northern States”.
The party also recalled the increased attention to the health need of
the area especially the interventions towards polio eradication and
treatment of VVF among others.
Noting that President Jonathan has indeed repositioned the region for
prosperity, the party pointed out that the north stands to benefit
immensely from the revitalization of the railways, especially the
rehabilitation of the Minna-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano narrow gauge, the
Markurdi-Lafia-Kuru-Bauchi-Gombe-Ashaka-Maiduguri line and the branch
line from Kafanchan to Kaduna, which are expected to increase
productivity in the region.
The party also noted that roads in the region have received serious
attention under Jonathan citing the decades-long intractable
Kano-Maiduguri highway, the longest stretch in the country, which is now
being successfully tackled in addition to the Abuja-Lokoja road, which
is now a delight for road travellers.
Noting that there are hundreds of such gigantic road projects going on
in the region, the PDP said that the dredging of the River Niger from
Lokoja to Baro in Niger State have also contributed in placing the north
on a sure path to economic prosperity.
It also cited the acceleration of work on the Geregu power station, the
700MW Zungeru Hydro-Power, the 3,050MW Mambilla Hydro-Power among
others in addition to various dam projects including the Kashimbila
Multipurpose Dam, which is being built to contain flood from Lake Nyos
in Cameroon.
The PDP insisted that Nigerians in the north are mindful of the fact
that their collective interest and aspiration are better protected under
Jonathan hence the support and eagerness to re-elect him come February
14, 2015.