He said: “PDP Power, No shaking.”
The President urged the crowd that they should continue to support all candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, across all levels and promised to work with them to bring development to the state.
President Jonathan, in his brief address, pledged to leave an indelible mark in the state if voted into office again by the people.He accused the All Progressives Congress, APC of being insincere by accusing him of not doing anything for Rivers and Bayelsa people while on the other hand, alleging that he had concentrated developmental projects in the Niger Delta region.
Jonathan said he would continue to concentrate on how his administration’s agenda of transforming all facets of national life can be achieved.
The President added that the current dispensation is all about developing young people, saying that his administration had made sure 12 new federal universities were built to expand the capacity of the system to accommodate more undergraduates.
He thanked Rivers people for their support and recalled how he had spent most years of his growing up in Rivers.
“This year is dedicated to the young people. We wanted to ensure all states had federal universities and expand the capacity of school system to admit youths, that is why we built 12 new federal universities,” the President said.
Earlier, Vice President Namadi Sambo had said Jonathan had made Nigeria’s economy the largest in Africa and reviving the moribund rail sector.
The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, asked the people to give 2.4 million votes to her husband on February 14 rather than the 2 million votes they delivered in 2011.
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio and former Rivers State Governor, Peter Odili, said that since the South-South region had carried the country’s economic burden for 50 years, President Jonathan should be allowed to do a second term in office unconditionally.
The PDP Deputy National Chairman, Mr. Uche Secondus, called on the United Nations, UN, to investigate the certificate saga involving APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd).
The PDP gubernatorial candidate in the state, Mr. Nyesom Wike, boasted that it was not Rotimi Amaechi who gave Jonathan two million votes in 2011, adding that on February14, he would ensure that the President also gets same or more number of votes to prove that the incumbent governor was inconsequential in the state.
He challenged Governor Amaechi to give Buhari the same two million votes he claimed to have given Jonathan in 2011.
Highlight of the occasion was the presentation of the party’s flag to Wike and his running mate, Dr. Ipalibo Banogo by the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu.
Wike tested and trusted – PDP
Meanwhile, the state chapter of the PDP, has said Wike is a tested and trusted leader who will return the state to its former glorious status.
“Chief Wike is a democrat and not a dictator, a team player and not a lone ranger, a listening, caring and development-driven governor,” the state chairman of the party, Mr. Felix Obuah said.
Obuah affirmed that the large crowd at the occasion to welcome President Jonathan was a confirmation of the people’s confidence in Wike.
“More than 90 percent of the entire Rivers people have adopted him as their governor. We are merely waiting for May 29 to swear him in as the next governor of Rivers State.”
On behalf of traditional rulers, the Oba of Ogbaland, Eze Chukwuemeka Obi, described Jonathan as a proud son of the state. He pledged the support of the traditional institution for his government and wished him success in his second term bid.
End your feud, Jonathan tells Ondo PDP while in Akure for the Ondo State leg of the campaign, President Jonathan advised the PDP stakeholders to immediately settle their differences and move the state forward.
Specifically, the President called on the two political gladiators, Governor Olusegun Mimiko and the businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim to end their quarrel.
He said that the PDP stakeholders need to sit down and discuss the development of the state and not personal things, urging them to do everything that will make the people unite.
Jonathan also advised politicians in the country to always think about the people, their development and wellbeing at all times.
According to the President, politics is about the development of people and not personal issues, “if not for the people, I would not be here talking to you today,’’ he said.
He urged them to resolves the differences that arose from the merging of the Labour Party and the PDP in the state after Mimiko joined the party.
Source: Nigerian Pilot
