Ahead of its national convention billed to hold in Abuja
Wednesday and Thursday, the ruling Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, has dismissed any threat posed to President
Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election by his two major
challengers.
The party said even where All Progressives Congress, APC’s
frontline contenders, former head of state, Muhammadu
Buhari, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar,
presented a unified candidacy, Mr. Jonathan would defeat
them both and still emerge victorious at February’s
presidential election.
The spokesperson of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, made the
assertion when he addressed a press conference, Tuesday,
at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja.
“We are today serving notice to the opposition APC to
expect a crushing defeat at the polls,” Mr. Metuh said.
“In view of our confidence, preparedness and the
popularity of our candidate, we declare that the APC can
put forth its two frontline aspirants in one bunch, namely
General Muhammadu Buhari and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as
joint presidential candidates with their collective
credentials and followership to face our candidate,
President Goodluck Jonathan,” he said.
Mr. Metuh added that the job of selling the idea of re-
electing Mr. Jonathan to Nigerians has been made easy by
the president’s record of performance.
“The PDP is (rest) assured that we have a very good
product to sell to Nigerians,” he emphasized. “We are
confident that President Jonathan, as our candidate, is
primed to win the 2015 presidential election based on his
popularity deriving from his forthrightness, humility and
steadfastness to the Nigerian project coupled with his
record of verifiable achievements.”
The National convention of the PDP is expected to ratify
Mr. Jonathan’s status as the party’s sole presidential
candidate having been endorsed by all organs of the party.
In the same vein, the APC will between Wednesday and
Thursday choose one of five candidates to face Mr.
Jonathan.
At the party’s national convention holding in Lagos,
delegates will pick one amongst Messrs Buhari and Atiku,
the governors of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Imo State,
Rochas Okorocha and newspaper publisher, Sam Nda-
Isaiah.
Mr. Metuh said the PDP is going into its own primaries
with great excitement.
“For us in the PDP, it is neither a matter of conjecture nor
propaganda; we are certain that with the grassroots
support and the love he enjoys from Nigerians across
board, President Jonathan will secure an emphatic victory
at the polls,” he said.
Why Jonathan needs a second term
The PDP spokesperson said Mr. Jonathan deserves a second
term to continue with the job of maintaining the country’s
unity, stability and prosperity, arguing that such has been
the driving force and inspiration of the PDP government in
delivering its mandate in the last three years.
“This trinity of unity, stability and prosperity has made
him the most suitable President for our great nation in
these present times,” he said.
Mr. Metuh said Nigeria has never witnessed the kind of
security challenges it is presently facing with insurgency in
some part of the north.
“The insurgency is hitting at the heart of our national
unity and cohesion. Instead of reacting in ways that could
damage the trust and love of Nigerians for one another,
the President has acted more on the side of caution by
ensuring that actions to defeat terrorism are carefully
thought-out and pursued,” Mr. Metuh said.
Mr. Metuh recalled that when President Jonathan was to
declare a state of emergency in the northern states of
Borno, Adamawa and Yobe last year, some persons were of
the view that the emergency rule should be total by
removing all the democratic structures.
He said the president thought differently and refused to
tamper with the democratic structures in those states.
Doing so, according to Mr. Metuh, would have threatened
the country’s democracy and by extension the unity of the
nation.
“The president must be commended for showing
leadership,” he said.
He also said Mr. Jonathan must specifically be praised for
embarking on electoral reform, which has helped to
strengthen the integrity of Nigeria’s elections.
He said the president intervened in the aftermath of the
2011 general elections, which witnessed political
polarization along ethnic and religious lines.
“We remember that the results of the election were
greeted with violent protests in some Northern States.
“Following his demonstrated commitment to credible, free
and fair elections, the votes of the electorate now count as
exemplified in the Edo, Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti and Osun
gubernatorial elections,” he said.
He said the president has been able to stabilize the polity
by his pan-Nigerian outlook and approach to governance.
The party said Mr. Jonathan has been able to give every
geo- political zone a sense of belonging in terms of
infrastructure development, economic and human capital
empowerment.
“Besides, the visible and concrete infrastructure
development in our nation, President Jonathan has been
able to demonstrate a deep sense of equanimity in
providing leadership, in spite of the incendiary remarks by
some opposition leaders,” he said.
“Amidst the recessions and economic downturn in most
nations of the world, our economy has been stabilized, our
unity preserved and our democracy enhanced.
“Under President Jonathan, our nation has witnessed
remarkable progress and landmark developments in all
sectors of the Nigerian public life, through his
Transformation Agenda.
“The administration has revived the comatose railway
transportation with some of the rail lines already in
operation. Lagos-Kano is already in operation with new
coaches providing improved services.
“Not only have the nation’s highways improved, ongoing
works can be seen in almost all parts of the country. When
the Jonathan administration came on board, only 5,000 out
of the 35,000 kilometers of federal roads were motorable.
Today, the Jonathan government has rehabilitated and
reconstructed 20,000 additional kilometers. The remaining
10,000 kilometers will be completed in the next three years
while other new road projects will be executed,” he said.
He said there have been monumental achievements in the
agriculture sector, particularly in the distribution of
fertilizer, development in the production of rice, cassava
and other Nigerian staples.
The party said the Nigerian economy is growing at an
average rate of 6.5 percent.

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