2015: We’ll Begin Campaign In 6 Months – Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday told the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Sulu Gambari, he would return to Ilorin to campaign for his party in six months time.
Speaking when he paid homage to the Emir of Ilorin during his one-day visit to the state, Jonathan noted that while the stability of the country was non-negotiable, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is the party that had ensured the stability of the country.
He noted, however, that as the 2015 general elections inch closer, the era of imposition of candidates or godfatherism in the PDP was a thing of the past.
According to him, the two vices must be done away with to pave the way for elected representatives to serve the people diligently. Noting that INEC had come up with the programme for 2015 elections, he declared that he would return to Ilorin to campaign for his party in the next six months.
Jonathan said: “So we are here to ginger our members. Also to use that opportunity to tell others that they need to join PDP, because I believe it we may probably come back between six and eight months depending on how the party decides.
“I don’t know if Muazu has come up with a timetable, so we don’t know; but we would come back shortly to really introduce people we believe would be used for various elections and, of course, we would also ask you to convey our own messages to others.
Speaking later in the day before a crowd at a PDP rally held in Ilorin Metropolitan Square, Kwara State tagged “Unity/Freedom Rally” where he received some defectors from other parties, the president noted that all stakeholders in the party, irrespective status, would be given a free hand to serve the people without hindrance from any quarters.
He said: “PDP is not for any dictator because it encompasses all Nigerians irrespective of their status. PDP is not for an individual, it is not for a dictator. There is no more godfatherism and no more imposition in the party in order to allow the people to enjoy the dividends of democracy.
“PDP is not owned by any individual or group of individuals. We don’t have dictators in PDP. We have people who believe in the people; that is why in PDP we talk about one man, one vote. No more imposition, no more godfatherism,” he said, adding that PDP is the only party that people like him could come from nowhere and become president of this country.
“I am president now. I have a governor in my state. I have never controlled him because he was elected by Bayelsans; he has to serve Bayelsans and not Goodluck Jonathan. Though we monitor your activities but we will give you the freedom to work. It is only in PDP that the governor serves the people of the state and the President serves Nigeria,” he said.
On his part, Vice President Namadi Sambo noted that the federal government had done a lot for the people of the state, especially in the areas of education and agriculture, among others.
He observed that the large turn- out of the people of the state at the rally was an indication that the transformation agenda of Jonathan’s administration was working.
In his address, Senate President David Mark said that for the people of Kwara to come out and grace the rally showed that the people of the state still believed in the PDP.
“It is a clear indication that Kwara is for PDP. Let me confess, we have gone round, like Imo State, the turnout in Kwara today is the biggest. All those that had left PDP will soon come back and they should be forgiven and accommodated,” he said.
PDP national chairman Alhaji Adamu Muazu said the rally marked the beginning of good things for the people of Kwara State.
One of the defectors, Mr. Muhammed Dele Belgore (SAN) thanked Jonathan for receiving them into PDP, promising him that, “the people of Kwara state will deliver for him in 2015 general elections.”
Other defectors include Senator Gbemisola Saraki, Princess Bilikisu Gambari, Alhaji Abdulraham Abdulrasaq, Rev. Bunmi Olusonna and Alhaji Akeem Lawal, son of the former governor of the state.
