President Goodluck Jonathan has described the ruling Peoples Democratic
Party as a party of democrats and not that of hooligans, assuring that,
next month’s election will be internationally certified as free and fair.
Jonathan stated this at the inauguration of the PDP presidential campaign
organisation held in Abuja today. The presidential campaign organisation
headed by Dr. Ahmadu Ali, is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring
that Jonathan and vice president, Namadi Sambo are returned into office
for a second term.
In his remarks at the official inauguration, Jonathan warned the campaign
team against pulling down other people’s posters, noting that, “it is
primitive. Please, do not join them. Every Nigerian must be free to
campaign anywhere”.
Jonathan is optimistic that with his campaign team he will be reelected
president. “I am fully convinced that not only are you up to the task
individually or as a team, but that you also have all that it takes – the
passion, intellect, drive, commitment, and the know-how to run a focused,
robust and purposeful campaign that will further endear our ticket to the
electorate and bring us victory once again”.
“Many of you are tested veterans of political campaigns. As we embark
formally on the campaigns for our re-election, our party, the People’s
Democratic Party will depend on you. I am also personally counting on you.
I ask you to take on this assignment for your great party, for Goodluck
Jonathan and Namadi Sambo, and also, more importantly, for the country as
a whole.
“Without doubt, the forthcoming elections mark a critical point in our
nation’s history. The eyes of the international community are focused on
the transition that lies ahead of us; the fifth post-military rule general
elections that will be conducted under a civilian dispensation in Nigeria.
“The world is asking: will Nigeria get it right? My categorical response
to that is: Yes, we must. And surely, we will. It is your duty to ensure
that through your campaigns, and activities, this primary objective is not
lost.
“Our commitment to free, fair, credible, and violence-free elections
remains unshaken. That should also be your own commitment as we go to the
field to seek the people’s mandate once again.
“You must always remember that we are a party of democrats, not a party of
hooligans. We are a party of patriots, not a party of renegades. We are a
party of statesmen and women. We are a party of builders, not destroyers.
We are a party of committed servants of the people. You must let our
people see once again, that we are in this to serve and to move Nigeria
forward, not to move Nigeria backwards.
Jonathan then charged them that no cause his greater than that of Nigeria.
“In the coming campaigns and elections, we must see to it that Nigeria
triumphs, and that democracy wins. No other cause can be greater than the
Nigerian cause. Without Nigeria, there will be no President.
“We have an obligation to consolidate our democracy, strengthen our
institutions and project Nigeria positively by running a disciplined,
issues-based and civilized campaign. That is my charge to you all.
“I am especially inspired by the positive energy, the optimism, and the
enthusiasm among our party leaders and members. There may be issues
arising from the party primaries, which have led to some of our members
expressing grievances. But this is the time for all of us to come together
and work as one family. At the end of the day, every one of us will be
useful in one way or the other.
“I call on all party members to stand as one in the face of the assignment
ahead of us. Losing a party primary should not result in a loss of faith
in the party. No election should be a do or die contest. Whatever
grievances we have can be resolved within the family and will be resolved.
There is a job to be done, and all loyal members of our great party must
play their expected roles.
“I urge members of the Presidential Campaign Organization to go round the
country, propagating our message of transformation and continuity. I urge
you to fully mobilise all the party faithful in every ward and every
district to work for the victory we require to take our agenda for
national transformation forward to a successful conclusion for the benefit
of present and future generations of Nigerians.
“We have everything that it takes to run an excellent and victorious
campaign. Our great party has demonstrated to Nigerians that it is the
party with the broadest appeal. We are the strongest and the biggest. We
have engaged the people of Nigeria positively with people-friendly
policies, which have moved Nigeria forward.”
He stated that despite the security challenges that his government
inherited, it is determined to win the war. “We have sustained the
democratic tradition. We have strengthened democratic institutions. We
inherited a rather complex security challenge but we are waging a
determined war against it. We are succeeding in preventing terrorists and
insurgents from turning more of our communities into enclaves for their
dastardly activities.
“We remain fully committed to further empowering the security agencies to
enable them win the war against terror. We have proven to the people that
we are a party and a team that they can rely upon. In the last four years,
despite the security challenges we have had to contend with, Nigeria,
under our watch, has made significant strides in every aspect. Our economy
today is the largest and the strongest in the African continent, and a
preferred destination for foreign direct investment.
“We have focused on job creation and the expansion of opportunities for
our teeming youth as well as interventions to promote Micro, Small and
Medium Scale Enterprises. Through an internationally acclaimed
transformational agricultural programme, we have re-established
agriculture as a business, and a major driver of economic growth.
“Today, not only is the agricultural sector thriving, the value chains in
the sector have been activated and have become productive. The country’s
food import bill has been reduced, and the non-oil sector has witnessed
significant growth. We have expanded access to education by providing
schools and facilities at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
Today, there is a Federal University in every state of the Federation, and
every Nigerian child has been given the opportunity to go to school.
“We have successfully privatized the power sector: a process that was
adjudged by the international community of investors as transparent and
credible. Our trains are moving again, from Lagos to Kano, from Lagos to
Ibadan, from Port Harcourt to Enugu.
“I am not campaigning to you who are already convinced. I have no doubts
that you are all familiar with the achievements of this administration.
But I have outlined a few of them to show that we are in a solid position
to run a campaign based on our commendable record.
“Our creditable performance in the past four years should be our strongest
selling point as we go to the campaign fields. Flaunt our achievements in
all parts of the country, tell the story of what we have achieved and let
the facts and the figures be heard in every nook and cranny of Nigeria.
“In doing this, you must be civil, decorous and law-abiding. I have
repeatedly promised Nigerians and the international community that as much
as it lies within our powers, the coming general elections will be free,
fair, credible and violence-free. I made that pledge with all seriousness
and I fully intend to fulfill it.
“As agents of the ruling party, all eyes will be on you during the
campaign and elections. I therefore expect nothing but the highest
standards of exemplary conduct from you as your worthy contribution to the
fulfillment of our pledge of peaceful and successful elections. Some other
politicians and campaigners are threatening fire and brimstone. Do not
join them. Some other parties are pulling down other people’s posters.
That is primitive. Please, do not join them. Every Nigerian must be free
to campaign anywhere.
He then stated that the elections will be violence-free. “Thugs, violence
and malpractice or rigging must have no place in our campaign and
electoral activities. Do not join those who threaten to start fires and
turn them into infernos in our country.
“I assure you and all Nigerians that whoever foments trouble before,
during and after the elections will be promptly and decisively dealt with
according to the law. With all our party leaders and members, we are going
into this election season to legitimately seek our peoples’ mandate for
further service, consolidation and continuity of progress for our country.
“We must place our hope for victory in nothing else but the support and
confidence of the great majority of our people, and the blessing of
Almighty God. We will ensure that the people’s vote counts and that their
will prevails, as it should, in every true democracy,” he stated.