*Says he’ll take a short rest outside Nigeria
*Adds: My very close aides did not vote

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA — PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has told the National Working Committee, NWC, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that he would return stronger to help rebuild the party after taking a short break outside the country with his family.
The President urged the leadership, stakeholders, leaders, elders and members of the PDP to put behind them the defeat the party suffered during the March 28 presidential election where it lost to the All Progressives Congress, APC, after 16 years in power and build the party for future elections.
President Jonathan, who did not actually blame the leadership of the party for his loss at the election, was said to have heaped the blames on some of his very close aides, just as he told the NWC members that a Special Adviser from the North did not even vote on the day of Presidential election.

Vanguard gathered that President Jonathan, who thanked members of the NWC for their support, disclosed to them that soon after the May 29 handover of government, he would travel outside the country with his family, rest, recuperate and then come back to politics later, but not immediately.

President Jonathan who also warned the leadership of the party against apportioning blames asked them to ensure that the PDP does not disintegrate because of March and April elections.

PDP will bounce back

He said from all indications, the PDP would bounce back against the backdrop that there would be the problem of ego where three persons will be serving as Presidents of the country with only one elected.
The Wednesday meeting was held behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa with the aim of ending the lingering crisis in the party after the general elections where some PDP governors, party leaders, stakeholders and members have been calling for the sack of the present National Working Committee, NWC, under Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu.
The meeting, the first of its kind since the PDP lost the presidency after 16 years of leadership to the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, retd, was a postmortem on the election, to discuss the way forward for the party especially the move to heal the inflicted wounds, to restrategise as well as reposition the party.

It was also gathered that those present at the meeting used the opportunity to ruminate on the elections and the loss where they wished that the PDP would have won the election.

The ruling PDP, which controlled the Presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives for 16 years since 1999, did not only suffer Presidential defeat, but it lost in its traditional states of Plateau; Niger; Kaduna; Benue; Bauchi and Jigawa.