The 2015 re-election campaign for President Goodluck Jonathan has begun with the wooing of voters with bags of rice.
Findings by iPUNCH on Sunday revealed that the re-election campaign being coordinated by the Office of the Special Assistant to the President on New Media will involve presentation of bags of rice to select Nigerians periodically.
On Saturday, the Special Assistant to the President on New Media, Reno Omokri, doled out two bags of rice to two Nigerians — Aloysius Asuquo and Adebayo Michael-Akande.
According to the Presidency, the two beneficiaries emerged after they competed with dozens of other Nigerians in an online competition monitored on Twitter and Facebook.
The question posted by the Presidency to which dozens of Nigerians responded, to jostle for the bags of rice, stated, “Which leader publicly declared he has no accounts or property abroad?”
Omokri, claimed that the answer to the question was “President Goodluck Jonathan.” He added that the bags of rice being given out were not the imported brands but the ones “grown, milled and bagged in Nigeria.”
Apart from the donation which many described as “Greek gift,” the Presidency has also endorsed a group, “Bring Back President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.”
The group boasted online that it would evolve what it described as a “creative campaign” on Twitter and other major social networking sites to ensure victory for Jonathan in 2015.
“Six months to go. The only message we can align with is to bring back President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.
“The message is clear. We will not only trend the hashtag,BringBackPGEJ2015weekly, but also make it a reality come February 14, 2015,” the group that has been endorsed by Omokri stated on Twitter.
While Asuquo expressed happiness that the Presidency extended to him his own share of “stomach infrastructure,” Michael-Akande said he was “super excited” to be on the receiving end of the gesture.
But some online commentators have faulted the doling out of rice by the Presidency, with many noting that it was unfortunate that it would resort to such an abysmal tactics ahead of the 2015 general election.
A respondent, Moses Daniel, observed that the rice donation appeared more like the Presidency was viewing Nigerians as hungry citizens who value “stomach infrastructure” over and above infrastructural development.
According to Daniel, the Presidency should be engaging Nigerians online on issues affecting the nation’s economic and national development especially jobs, small scale business funding, roads, rail, health care and housing needs.
“Nigerians are not hungry,” Daniel declared on Facebook, adding, “We shouldn’t be playing abysmal politics in 2014, when some other countries are going to Mars.”
Another commentator, Bepo Odunayo, said it was embarrassing that the Presidency would be evidently lacking in political strategy so much that it would resort to a tactics which failed in the last Osun State governorship election.
“Is this not the same bag of rice Omisore distributed in Osun and lost the gubernatorial election?” Odunayo asked. “Nigerians are not glutinous.”
Odunayo advised the Presidency to give to Nigerians what is befitting and not some crumbs which would do them no good.
“It’s what truly belongs to them you should give back to them,” he argued.http://www.punchng.com/i-punch/jonathans-aide-woos-youths-with-rice/

White or Jollof rice? #uselesspeople

They should create employment for them instead of distributing rice.

in 2014 news with no pix??

This game show should be called "Who Wants To Be A Rice Owner" A bag of rice in exchange for a bag of diamonds....the depth of the deceit of the human heart!

durella4: They should create employment for them instead of distributing rice.

They are not interested in the wellbeing of the Nigerian Youths. They even scammed the unemployed ones with fake jobs and killed 17 of them without even refunding a kobo.

Yet you will see the same youths here insulting folks and screaming GEJ till madness is gone.

himkers: The rice must have come from the APC. They want to discredit GEJ....They have failed woefully this time around

Hmm...lf PDP was comfortable with Omisore doing so in Osun state, what is wrong with this?

Stomach infrastructure typical of pdp/gej/TAN/N2N!

durella4: They should create employment for them instead of distributing rice.

dream on!
they rather increase the poverty rate for d citizenry and, be left open to their wooing-rice or other food items , when it is time for election.

This is blatant lie! This is 2014. You should at least have a visual evidence of it. A screenshot of the said thread on twitter would do if you can't produce pictures of the rice. Stop fabricating lies, biko!!!