President Goodluck Jonathan receives big boost as northwest PDP leaders endorse his re-election bid PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan got a big boost in his bid to secure the Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) nomination for next years election yesterday when party leaders from across the northwest geo-political zone endorsed his candidacy. Although yet to formally declare that he will be a candidate for the 2015 elections, President Jonathans campaign has been well under way for several months. He has travelled up and down the country getting endorsements from hundreds of pressure and community groups to the chagrin of his opponents who want him to stand down. Most of the opposition to President Jonathans re-election bid comes from the northwest, as the zone insists that the partys candidate should be a northerner. Only last week, Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido declared that he would be seeking the PDP presidential ticket, which apparently caused some disquiet in the presidential villa. On a swift reaction, the party hierarchy organised a dinner in Kaduna, the capital of the former Northern region, presided over by the former Kaduna State governor and current vice president Namadi Sambo. It was attended by senior party leaders including chairman Adamu Mu’azu, national organising secretary Abubakar Mustapha, zonal chairman Ambassador Adamu Kazaure, Senator Magoro, several state governors and Sokoto State deputy governor Mukhtar Shagari. Conspicuously absent from the meeting, however, were Governors Lamido and Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State, as well as the speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal, whose is also thought to have presidential ambitions. Of Nigerias six geo-political zones, the northwest comprising of the seven states of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna and Jigawa states has the largest number of voters. Ironically posters screaming Jonathan/Shema for president/vice president in 2015 flooded the venue of the meeting, leading to speculation that some forces within the party were campaigning for vice president Sambo to be dropped. Kebbi State governor Usman Dankingari, said that the governors would ensure that they deliver the zone which he described as the most sophisticated in the country to President Jonathan. A communique issued at the end of the meeting read out by Ambassador Aminu Wali, the foreign minister, said the president had done a lot to deserve a second term. It added that the region would remain grateful to the Jonathan administration, especially in terms of infrastructural upliftment, good governance and the promotion of democracy. Ambassador Aminu Wali said: “Having carefully considered the steady and stable progress of our nation under the able leadership of Dr Goodluck Jonathan, the stakeholders of the PDP in the northwest zone, having in mind the monumental strides attained by this administration, have resolved to endorse Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to declare for president in the forthcoming 2015 elections so as to continue the good work he started in nation building. We ask for nothing less. Yesterdays meeting then called on the on the PDPs national chairman to convey this resolution and unanimous declaration to President Jonathan. It praised the fact that several beneficial projects have been sited in the northwest for the rapid socio-economic transformation of the region.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 15:53:16 +0000
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