Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo said that the administration of
President Goodluck Jonathan was working hard to transform Nigeria by
tackling all areas militating against its growth and development.
The Vice President stated this today in Kaduna at a meeting with some PDP
groups at the grassroots. The groups comprised of the PDP Executives in
the 250 wards in the State, ward coordinators of the Goodluck/Sambo
Presidential Campaign organization, their Yero /Bajoga Campaign
organization counterparts, the Yoruba for Goodluck/Sambo as well as other
grassroots supporters of the party.
Arc Namadi Sambo said that the present administration has done a lot in
the areas of power generation, transmission and distribution by completing
ten new thermal power plants that would add about 4,700mw to the national
grid and initiating several new power projects across the country while it
has successfully unbundled the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). He
added that currently a transmission line was being mounted from the
completed 30mw Gurara Hydro Power plant to transmit 20mw to Kudendan
industrial area of Kaduna state, while the remaining 10mw would be
transmitted to communities around the gurara zone. He further assured of
the timely completion of the 215mw power plant in Kudendan which has
reached advanced stage of completion.
In the areas of road construction, the Vice President said that the
present administration has inherited only 30,000km of road network with
only 5,000 km in good shape and has within three and a half years added
20,000km of road network in addition to rehabilitating the existing ones.
In the rail sector, Namadi Sambo stated that the Jonathan administration
has resuscitated the abandoned rail sector bringing back to life 3,500km
of the nano-gauge rail lines in the country and trains now commute from
Lagos to Kano, Port-Harcourt-Enugu-Makurdi-Gombe-Jos and very soon the
rehabilitated rail line linking Zaria to Kauran-Namoda would be
commissioned. He added that the standard gauge rail line that links Kaduna
to Abuja would also be commissioned soon.
On the dredging of the River, Niger the vice-president acknowledged that
the Onitsha river port has been completed while those of Lokoja and Baro
would soon be commissioned.
The President has insisted that every child must have the right to
education, in that regard, the vice president has affirmed the investment
in billions of naira to states and local governments for the improvement
of basic education through the procurement of textbooks and teaching
materials as well as training and development of teachers. At the tertiary
level, he stated that the current administration under President Goodluck
Jonathan has established 12 new universities and an additional two new
specialized ones; Police College in Wudil and the Maritime Academy in Oron
upgraded to degree awarding institutions, a record that surpassed any
other previous records in the country.
“With the rebasing of the economy, Nigeria is now the biggest economy in
Africa.” He added
The Vice President however reminded the party supporters that elections
are won at the ward level therefore they should strategize to ensure
victory for the party in all the positions it contested for while urging
them to conduct themselves with decorum which they were known for. “PDP is
a peaceful party and will continue with peace.” He added
Earlier in his remarks Governor Ramalan Yero of Kaduna acknowledged that
the Jonathan administration has achieved a lot in the state and the nation
in terms of developmental projects in the areas of power, roads, rail,
agriculture and other social amenities and therefore deserved nothing
short of victory at the poll. He called on the party’s executives to
return to their various wards and work towards ensuring victory for the
party.
The state Chairman of the Party Abubakar Gaiya Haruna has expressed their
readiness to deliver the state to the Party.
The meeting was attended by several party stalwarts in the state amongst
whom where Senator Musa Bello, former Minister of Aviation and State
Coordinator Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Organisation Felix Hassan Hyet, and
Kaduna state Deputy Governor Amb Nuhu Bajoga.
In a related development, the Vice-President has also met with
representatives of religious groups in the state where he called on their
prayers for the conduct of a peaceful election while urging them to return
to their various communities and preach on peace and peaceful coexistence.
Representatives from the Jama’atul Nasril Islam (JNI), the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN) where among those present at the meeting.