Presidential election: My hope lies in God, Nigerians--Jonathan President Goodluck Jonathan says his hope for victory in the February 14 presidential election is based on the blessing of God as well as the support and confidence of the great majority of Nigerians. The president noted that he was going into the poll to legitimately seek Nigerians mandate for further service, consolidation and continuity of the countrys progress. Jonathan spoke at Legacy House, Maitama in Abuja today at the inauguration of the Peoples Democratic Party Campaign Organisation, headed by a former national chairman of the party, Senator Ahmadu Ali. He said: 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. Stressing further that he was also personally counting his campaign team, the president said: 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. He said he was 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. The president assured that he would ensure that Nigerians vote counts and that their will prevails, as it should, in every true democracy. Noting that the whole world is watching on Nigeria as the country goes to the polls this year, Jonathan said Nigeria must get the forthcoming general elections right and expressed optimism that the country would surely get it right. He said the forthcoming elections undoubtedly marked a critical point in Nigerias history, saying: 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. He said his commitment to free, fair, credible, and violence-free elections remained unshaken, asking members of his campaign team to make such their own commitment as they go to the field to seek Nigerians 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, he said. He said 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. Weve an obligation to consolidate our democracy, strengthen our institutions and project Nigeria positively by running a disciplined, issues-based and civilised campaign. That is my charge to you all. He said he was especially inspired by the positive energy, the optimism and the enthusiasm among the party leaders and members, noting that there might be issues arising from the party primaries which had left some members aggrieved. He added this was the time for all to come together and work as one family, noting that in the end of the day, every one of them would be useful in one way or the other. The president charged his campaign team to go round the country to propagate his message of transformation and continuity. He specifically urged them to flaunt his achievements to all Nigerians, urging Flaunt our achievements in all parts of the country, tell the story of what weve achieved and let the facts and the figures be heard in every nook and cranny of Nigeria. He also urged his campaign team to fully mobilise all the party faithful in every ward and every district to work for the victory required to take his transformation agenda forward to a successful conclusion for the benefit of present and future generations of Nigerians. Go forward and work to the best of your great abilities to win electoral victory once again for us and our great party, the president directed. According to him, the PDPs creditable performance in the past four years should be its strongest selling point as it goes to the campaign fields. The president implored the team to be civil, decorous and law-abiding in its campaigns across the country. He noted that he intended to fulfil his the pledged he had repeatedly made, with seriousness, to Nigerians and the international community that as much as it lies within his administrations powers, the coming general elections will be free, fair, credible and violence-free. He reassured that his government would promptly and decisively deal with troublemakers before, during and after the elections, in accordance to the law. 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 fulfilment 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, dont join them. Every Nigerian must be free to campaign anywhere. 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. Weve 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. Were the strongest and the biggest. Weve engaged the people of Nigeria positively with people-friendly policies, which have moved Nigeria forward. Weve sustained the democratic tradition. Weve strengthened democratic institutions. We inherited a rather complex security challenge but were waging a determined war against it. Were 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, he said. He urged all PDP 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. The president boasted of the achievements of the PDP-led government thus: Weve proven to the people that were a party and a team that they can rely upon. In the last four years, despite the security challenges, weve 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. Weve 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, weve 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. Weve 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 privatised 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. Im not campaigning to you who are already convinced. Ive no doubts that youre all familiar with the achievements of this administration. But Ive outlined a few of them to show that were in a solid position to run a campaign based on our commendable record. The president ended his address with a prayer: May God Almighty grant us a successful campaign and victory in the elections.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 17:27:40 +0000
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