ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – President Goodluck Jonathan at a meeting with all aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday said notwithstanding the intimidation of the opposition party, the ruling party would never be beaten at the federal level at the coming elections.
He blamed the intimidation of the party on the fact that it has not been marketing it’s various achievements which can be seen at all levels of governance and economy.
The Director-General of the President’s campaign organisation, Senator Ahmadu Ali, accused the West led by America of opposing Jonathan’s re-election bid as well as their reluctance to assist in the fight against insurgency because he signed the Anti Same-Sex Bill into law.
The occasion was also used to unveil the PDP Ward Volunteer Scheme.
Jonathan said, “I am convinced that up to this time, there is no party that can beat PDP. All we need is unity. There is no party that is formidable like PDP”.
He said PDP was not just the largest party in the country but also the only party that has members in all voting units across the country.
He said even if 10 political parties come together, they could not reach PDP’s level.
While saying that the PDP had done well over time, Jonathan challenged the opposition to match the party on performances of their governors state-by-state.
For instance, the president boasted that it is only state governments under the leadership of the PDP that have been able to provide functional airports in their state capitals.
He also said the number of state universities established by PDP states were more than those of the opposition.
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He however regretted that despite the performance of the PDP, the opposition also intimidate PDP members even in their (PDP) states, adding the party would not allow the opposition to win at the national level.
He said, “They (the opposition) intimidate us to the extent that they intimidate us even in states where we have PDP governors.
“We will not allow those who are not up to us in terms of performance to continue to intimidate us.
“At the national level, we cannot compare our standards with theirs, because they have not had the experience and we will not give them the opportunity because I know they will not do well.
“PDP is the only party that brings about peace in this country. And I always say that when you see people talking and you see the bitterness in their hearts, you see the frustration, the anger, and you see them as people who are already feeling guilty.
“If you don’t have a forgiving heart, if you don’t have a clean heart, you cannot rule Nigeria, because you cannot give what you don’t have.
“From 1999 till date, the PDP has done well. If they (the opposition) parade one state to show their performance, we will provide our own states to counter them. PDP states have done more.
“We must collectively project PDP and sell the party to the electorate,” he said.
Jonathan said he would meet with PDP candidates at all levels starting from governorship candidates in continuation of preparation for the elections.
He said he would also meet with National Assembly candidates before the end of the week while that with the State Houses of Assembly candidates might hold after the first round of election.
Earlier, Ali said some nations whom he described as Nigeria’s former partners were against Jonathan’s re-election because of the anti-same sex law.
He, however, said irrespective of what the positions of the countries were, Nigeria has its culture to protect.
He said, “It does not matter what our former partners feel because we did pass the anti same-sex bill. We are a nation with culture; we have tradition.
“We have taken our decision and we will abide by it and believe you me the whole of Africa are looking up to us in Nigeria.
“Democracy is not a panacea for all cultures, every country has to interpret a bit of its own culture into it to be able to understand and work it.
“So, for us to think that what is happening there must happen here is wrong. We must be able to nurture democracy from our own perspective and that is what we are doing.
“We may falter, they have been there for more than 200 years they are still faltering.”
Ali explained that the event was to flag off the next phase of the party’s campaign that would take members deeper into the grassroots.
While urging all party members to work for Jonathan’s victory, he assured them that in the President’s second term, “monkey go work, monkey go chop.”
He said those who had been left out in the past would have cause to smile in the second dispensation.
Ali said the party had done well and was on the path of victory.
He said the country could not afford a repeat of the era when Nigerians were crated and were ordered to be brought back to the county either dead or alive.
The Director, Contact and Mobilisation, Presidential Campaign Organisation, Prof. Jerry Gana, said the event was meant to form greater synergy in the party’s campaign so that a candidate would be campaigning for all party candidates.
“You don’t have to be ashamed to campaign for the President because he has done well. He has done many projects in states. He has done it before, he is doing now, he will do it better in the future,” he added.
The Deputy Director, Contact and Mobilisation, Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, said the meeting was called to fine tune election strategy.
He said if diligently implemented, the scheme would translate into victory for the party at all levels.
