With the presidential election just some 13 days away, Chairman of the<\/p>\n
Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih
\nyesterday called on the north and the south-south to strengthen their
\nage-long political alliance by voting overwhelmingly for President
\nGoodluck Jonathan.
\nAnenih, in a statement that came less than a week after the one in which
\nhe appealed to Nigerians to ensure the unity of the country during and
\nafter the election, urged the north to consider the decades of cooperation
\ngiven by the people of the south-south to candidates of the north and
\nreciprocate the gesture with a renewed mandate for Jonathan.
\nThe statement reads: \u201cLast week, I made a passionate appeal to Nigerians
\non the need for us to ensure, during the forthcoming elections, that the
\nnation remains unified and keeps moving forward in unity. With a few days
\nto commencement of the 2015 Presidential election, I find it expedient to
\nsend this appeal specifically to our brothers and sisters in the Northern
\nStates.
\n\u201cThe election is the most important as it is the precursor to the
\nelections at the state level, which come up on February 28. For me,
\nhowever, the critical issue in the February 14 Presidential election is
\njustice. While I do not intend to wish away your legitimate right to be
\nPresident, I urge you to consider the decades of cooperation given by the
\npeople of the South-South to candidates of the North.
\n\u201cIn all the democratic elections in Nigerian history in which a Northerner
\nhad contested, statistics show that the South-South often voted
\noverwhelmingly for such a candidate.
\n\u201cIn the First Republic, political parties in the South-South were in
\nalliance with the Northern Peoples Congress while in 1979, the South-South
\npeople voted massively for Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the National Party of
\nNigeria (NPN). Most recently, the Zone also voted massively for Alhaji
\nUmaru Musa Yar\u2019 Adua who got over 80% of the votes in all the States of
\nthe South-South.
\n\u201cWhat I ask of you is to reciprocate this show of solidarity and vote
\nmassively for our son, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, on February 14,
\n2015. This will only be a fair reward for the consistency of our
\nfriendship.
\n\u201cI need to emphasize that this is the first time that the South-South has
\nhad the opportunity to produce the President of Nigeria. It is an
\nopportunity for which we have been grateful since 2011. However, the
\npeople of the Zone would feel short-changed, if they were to be denied the
\nopportunity to have a full complement of tenure. A second term for
\nPresident Jonathan, who remains the best candidate for the presidency,
\nwill be the only just arrangement that the people of the Zone would
\ncherish.
\n\u201cMay I say that the choice of voting for President Jonathan has been made
\neasy for us all by his commendable performance in all the sectors of our
\nnational life during his first tenure. In agriculture, the economy,
\ninfrastructure, education, women and youth empowerment, the Jonathan
\nadministration has touched the lives of all Nigerians.
\n\u201cI seek your massive support for President Goodluck Jonathan at the
\nPresidential election on February 14, 2015. We need to continue to
\nstrengthen the bridge of unity and understanding among all the peoples of
\nthis great nation. It is only by making concessions and compromises that
\nwe can transform our diversity into great strength. There is no greater
\ntime for concessions and compromises than now.
\n\u201cMay I take this opportunity to call for moderation in our electioneering
\nand politicking. The threat of violence right from the time the
\npresidential candidate of the APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, changed his
\nmind that he would contest is unfortunate. We would reasonably refuse to
\naccept a situation where a Nigerian, whether from the North or the South,
\nwould start his political journey with a threat that the baboon and the
\ndog would be soaked in their own blood if what happened in 2011 happens in
\n2015; whereas 2011 election was adjudged by international and domestic
\nobservers as the best election that we ever had in the nation\u2019s poll
\nhistory.
\n\u201cI know the antecedents of each of the presidential candidates on parade
\nfor the 2015 election. I also know that the threat of violence or
\nrejection of anticipated election victory will not change the will of God.
\n\u201cAnd on the part of the Independent National Electoral Commission, I
\nexpect the election body to up its ante. In any human endeavour, there is
\nalways room for improvement. There is no doubt in my mind that in the
\n2015 presidential election, INEC will improve on its preparations and the
\nconduct of the election.
\n\u201cI appeal to all of us to come together to help in the effort to move
\nNigeria forward in unity and harmony. God bless President Jonathan; God
\nbless the PDP; God bless Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With the presidential election just some 13 days away, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih yesterday called on the north and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n