2015: No party can uproot PDP – Jonathan (Because you have perfected rigging?)

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday, sent out a message to opposition political parties intent on dislodging the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from power in 2015, saying that whatever the opposition may do, no party can uproot the ruling party.

Speaking at the 61st National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP in Abuja, he observed that the fact that opposition political parties were merging was an admission that they were too weak and that PDP was formidable and could not be defeated by any single party.

He also noted that the ruling party had been able to stabilise the polity since the inception of this political dispensation, a thing, he said, Nigerians should commend the party for.

“One good thing that Nigerians should commend PDP for is that if you look at the evolution of political parties, it is now stable. Before, when elections are coming, you will be hearing about new parties being formed and, at a time the ballot paper was becoming too long, INEC was finding a way of deregistering parties.

“Because PDP has come on very strong, no matter the criticism, they know that we are very strong and they realise that what they need to do is not forming new parties but parties coming together. So, we are helping to stabilise the polity.

“We will encourage them to come together more. We want a situation where it is PDP versus one party. In that case, the polity will be more stable. Even our members will be more loyal to the party, because you will have nowhere to go,” he said.

Speaking on the crisis which has bedeviled the party in recent times, Jonathan advised members to allow the party’s interest to supercede their individual interests, since in politics, there could be no permanent enemies but permanent interests.

“I believe that even in local politics, the interest matters so much.There is no permanent friend, no permanent enemy but permanent interest and as long as people have different interest, there must be disagreement,” he said.

The president explained the necessity to form the PDP Governors’ Forum, saying that it was in the realisation that governors elected under the platforms of other political parties normally held meetings to take certain positions before coming to the general meeting.

He observed that it was also necessary to halt the shrinking of PDP governors whose number had dwindled from 29 in 1999 to 23 at the present time, saying “at the beginning, there was no need for PDP Governors’ Forum but now, we have reduced in number to 23. Definitely, this should be the least. We cannot shrink below this level. We must build up.”

On security, the president said the recent killings of about 50 villagers in Zamfara State had nothing to do with Boko Haram and, therefore, encouraged state governors to do more to stem the spate of communal clashes in their areas.

“This idea of minor provocation, youth carrying weapons to attack and kill massively like what happened in Zamfara State recently has nothing to do with Boko Haram.

“But because Boko Haram is an issue, whenever somebody is killed, everybody says it is Boko Haram. What happened in Zamfara State had nothing to do with Boko Haram,” he said.

Jonathan promised that his administration would have achievements with which to convince Nigerians anytime it became necessary to campaign, but called for the loyalty and cooperation of all party members.

“We must make sure that anytime PDP has any reason to campaign, we must have reference point, we have solid material to show,” he declared.

PDP NEC passes vote of confidence in Jonathan
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP has passed a vote of confidence in President Jonathan, as it observed that Nigeria has made significant progress in many sectors under his leadership.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, after the meeting in Abuja, on Thursday, revealed that it followed a motion moved by former deputy Senate president, Ibrahim Mantu, which was unanimously adopted by all members of the committee.

The party also applauded ongoing reforms and development in the country, especially those in the agricultural, aviation, transportation and education sectors, saying that it was apparent that President Jonathan’s agenda for national transformation were being diligently implemented.

The party also commended President Jonathan for his strict adherence to the rule of law, as well as his protection and defence of the constitution.

-Tribunewp_posts