No disagreement between Atiku and I – Jonathan

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President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday said there was no disagreement between him and other aspirants that contended for the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic party last month.


At the primary election held on January 13 in Abuja, Jonathan defeated former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Mrs. Sarah Jibril. Last week, Abubakar said he was open to dialogue on the way forward for the party. Jibril was present at the launch of Jonathan’s presidential campaign in Lafia, Nasarawa State on Monday.


Addressing PDP members during the launch of his North-West campaign at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna, Jonathan said, “Let me assure you that the primaries are over and I and the other contenders have been meeting. There is no more differences between us.”


He, however, promised to work hard, if elected in April, and called for unity among Nigerians in order to ensure the country’s greatness. After calling for a minute’s silence in honour of his predecessor, the late President Umaru Yar’adua, Jonathan lamented the level of poverty in the country.


He said, “We must stimulate education in this country if we want to develop. That is why we are creating new universities. Two of them have been approved for the North-West in 2011 while next year, there will an additional two.


“We have discovered that some states in this country do not have a degree-awarding institution while others have two. We have approved a university each for Jigawa and Katsina and next year, there will additional two for Zamfara and Kebbi.”


He also described the North-West as the political hub of the country, saying it had about 25 per cent of the nation’s population. Earlier, Vice-President Namadi Sambo had said the sum of N50bn was provided in the 2011 budget for job creation. Sambo also said the President had approved the establishment of boarding schools for the 9.5 million almajiri across the North.


The PDP governorship candidate in Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, however, stole the show at the rally as thousands of his supporters intermittently chanted his name. Commercial activities and vehicular movement were practically grounded as security operatives blocked some major routes within the Kaduna metropolis.


However, the President’s campaign billboard adjacent to the North-West zonal campaign office of the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation was destroyed by unknown persons.


Also, Jonathan’s visit to the volatile Rigassa area of the Kaduna metropolis for the official inauguration of the standard fast train guage project was cancelled for security reasons.