President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan declared Thursday in Abuja that if
members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) remain committed to the
vision of its founding fathers and work very hard, the party will return
to power at the Federal level in 2019.
Speaking after receiving the report of the PDP Presidential Campaign
Organization at the Presidential Villa, President Jonathan said that the
party already had all that it will require to win the 2019 elections, but
needed to return to the drawing board to re-strategize for the future.
“Whatever happened was like a slip. You don’t need to travel to America to
know how power moves from the Republicans to the Democrats and from the
Democrats to the Republicans.
“You can even go to Ghana that is very close to us. The present
administration lost some years back and of course they came back, and won
the elections. So the problem is not whether we lost or won elections,
which is already history, but how we can reconsolidate our party.
“If we are committed and we work hard, definitely the PDP will spring
back,” President Jonathan told members of the party’s Presidential
Campaign Organisation.
Noting that the outcome of future elections will be determined by the
party’s preparedness, President Jonathan urged members of the PDP to be
more united and remain loyal to the party.
“We must continue to be united as a party. And continue to work hard so
that as we move towards subsequent elections in 2019 and 2023, PDP will
come out stronger.
“Let’s not judge PDP by the results of the presidential elections, because
in some of the states where we saw the PDP score so low, it was probably
due to problems within the PDP.
“The party will come back stronger. PDP is still the most organized party.
PDP is still the party that nobody owns. PDP is still the party that
whoever you are, you can get to any level that you aspire to through
competence. I encourage members of our party to remain faithful and not be
disillusioned,’’ the President said.
In his remarks at the occasion, the Director General of the PDP
Presidential Campaign Organisation, Sen. Ahmadu Ali, commended President
Jonathan for putting the nation before his personal ambition.
“Our great party will emerge from this debacle stronger, wiser and
prouder. Even in defeat, we are able to impart some valuable lessons to
the Nigerian electorate.
“This is the first time in the history of this country that a sitting
Government has handed over power peacefully to an opposition party after
an election. We are proud of you,’’ he told President Jonathan.