President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday said all the mandates of the Peoples Democratic Party allegedly stolen in Kwara State by virtue of recent defection by the state governor and others would be returned to the party.

Jonathan spoke while granting audience to a delegation of the state chapter of the PDP, who visited him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and his predecessor in office, Senator Bukola Saraki had recently led some PDP leaders to defect to the opposition All Progressives Congress in the state.

But Jonathan said reality would soon dawn on those who thought they could run away with the party’s mandate.

He urged a member of the state House of Assembly, who refused to defect alongside his colleagues, to rejoice over his decision because PDP would not allow defectors to go away with its mandate.

The President said the 2015 general elections would decide who owned the state among all the political parties.

He said, “In 2015, we will know who owns Kwara. And if God gives us the opportunity, which I believe He will, probably we will even test our strength before 2015. All stolen mandates will return to PDP. And those who think that they can run away  with our mandates…

“As a member of the Assembly who refused to defect, you will have nothing to regret. Just celebrate it. If they think that PDP will allow them to run away with  it, they will see it.

“So let us continue to encourage you and we will continue to work together with your leaders, supporters and make sure that just like the Senator said, we will not only win the election at the national level, we will also win at the state levels.”

Jonathan commended the party leaders for the recent rally they held in Ilorin, saying the rally was better organised than some of the party’s zonal rallies.

Alhaji Lateer Jimoh, who spoke on behalf of the delegation, told the President that without a PDP sitting governor in the state, party members had been like orphans.

He therefore urged the President to empower them properly through appointments so that they would not become the laughing stock of opposition.

He urged Jonathan not to bother about propaganda, saying the PDP remained the party to beat in Kwara.

-Punch