Date Published: 01/05/11

Delta Rerun: Jonathan backs Uduaghan

Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan said Delta State did not need theorists, who would set the state back and urged Deltans to vote for Emmanuel Uduaghan, whom he said would rule for the next four years.

President Jonathan, who was accompanied by top government functionaries and PDP chieftains, including his deputy, Alhaji Namadi Sambo; PDP national chairman, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo; former chairman, Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih; members of the National Working Committee; governors of Enugu, Cross River and Bayelsa states; National Assembly members; ministers, among others, spoke at the Warri Township Stadium.

The expansive Warri Township Stadium, venue of the event, was overwhelmed by security operatives, even as Armorued Personnel Carriers and anti-bomb vehicles were deployed to checkmate any security threat.

He said the PDP candidate had brought a lot of development to the state in the past three years and should be voted in to continue the good work he was doing.

“In the past three years, he has shown commitment to develop the state. You see the good work of Uduaghan. He has shown that he meant well for the development of the state, so we should all go out and vote for him.

“We need him; we want to work with him. He is going to rule for the next four years. This time round, we are going to work with him, with the members of the National Assembly and all other political leaders of Delta State and Nigeria as a whole.

“We don’t want a beginner. Uduaghan will return to the Government House, Asaba,” Jonathan said.

On his ambition, President Jonathan said he would remain in office till 2015, adding that the Federal Government, for the first time, had a blueprint for the sustainable development of the country.

He said it was easy to criticise government from the outside, because such critics did not know the workings of government.

“From what I have seen, Deltans have already been converted. We are here to say thank you and to assure you that the centre wants you to continue to work with Uduaghan.

“For the past three years, he has shown the blueprint and commitment to govern the state. It is easy to sit and criticise. We need him and we want to work with him.

“By God’s grace, I will continue to be president for the next four years. This time round, we have a blueprint to develop the country. We need people who are in the business and we don’t need people to come and learn on the job. We don’t need toddlers.

“I listened to the debate and I was convinced that we need experience and not beginners. We don’t need people who will come and theorise. Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan has done well in the past three years. I want to reassure Deltans that we are committed to Uduaghan and we want you to vote for him.

On January 6, Uduaghan is going back to the Government House,” the president said.

Also speaking, Vice- President Sambo said the PDP-led government had endorsed Uduaghan and called on the people of the state to vote massively for him during rerun and also for Jonathan in April.

He said the president had a wealth of experience to lead the country on the path of growth and development.

Former chairman, PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, in his remark, said Delta would remain a PDP state for several years to come.

While calling on all the ethnic nationalities in the state to co-exist, he warned against violence in the polls, saying that those who wanted to use violence to effect a change would be punished according to the law of the land.

“Delta State was PDP yesterday, Delta is PDP today and Delta State will be PDP forever. That is the summary of PDP strength in Delta State.

“All that we are asking for is co-existence. We like the opposition, no matter how weak they are. We don’t want violence.
Those who want to use violence to make a change would be dealt with in accordance with the law of the land,” he said.

Anenih also enjoined the people of the state to vote en masse for Jonathan, saying that “everybody wants to follow good luck and nobody wants to follow bad luck. But if anybody wants to follow bad luck, that is his or her own cup of tea.”

The governors of Enugu, Bayelsa and Cross River states also spoke in the same vein, rallying support for Uduaghan, adding that the presence of the president and his deputy was an indication that they had endorsed him to continue in office.

Earlier, the national chairman of the PDP, Dr Nwodo, who set the tone for the rally, had said the party would win the rerun as Uduaghan’s progammes had impacted positively on the lives of the people.

“On January 6, we will put all these people to shame. We will tell them that this quality of government cannot be stolen in the law court.

“Good governance belongs to the people. PDP belongs to the people. Uduaghan belongs to the people. What is good is good and you cannot change a winning party,” he said.

In his welcome address, the state chairman of the PDP, Mr Peter Nwaoboshi, said the state chapter would continue to respect the decision of the national leadership of the party.

Nwaoboshi noted that INEC would be monitored closely during the rerun, which he described as a test-run for the April general poll.

“On behalf of the PDP family, I welcome you to the rally. Since 1999, we have been in charge. What we are going to do on January 6 is to test run the PDP machinery in Delta State and we will win and win convincingly. As you go home, open your TV and radio on Friday and you will hear the news that we have won,” he said.

A visibly elated Uduaghan thanked the president and members of his entourage for leading the rally to return him as governor in Delta.

In a last minute appeal to Deltans on Tuesday, Dr Udughan sent out text messages to supporters for their votes.

Pricing himself as a legacy of prosperity, the former governor said he had been tested and trusted.