PDP Leaders Gather in Abuja for President’s Coronation

PDP National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu and President Jonathan

• Ruling party challenges main opposition candidate to debate
 
Three thousand and seventy three delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are expected to convene at the Eagle Square, Abuja, for the party’s national convention, which kicks off this Wednesday, to ratify President Goodluck Jonathan as the presidential candidate of the PDP by popular acclamation.

At the PDP convention, the party’s National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, who was appointed last January after the resignation of Bamanga Tukur, will also be ratified by the delegates.

Others to be ratified are the National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo, and the National Auditor, Wale Adeyanju.

Other items on the agenda include the amendment of some relevant portions of the party’s constitution.

According to details obtained by THISDAY, a motion would be taken on the ratification and there would be an affirmation election of “yes” and “no”.

On the second day of the convention, the 3,073 delegates would vote to ratify the adoption of Jonathan as the sole presidential candidate of the party.

Providing more details, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh, said: “There would be an election in accordance with the presidential primary guidelines of the party.

“The presidential primary guidelines state that there would be an election and I can assure you that there would be an election, even if it is 'Yes' and 'No' as stated in the guidelines to ratify the adoption of the president as the consensus presidential candidate of PDP.”

On the insistence of Mrs. Duke Abiola that she is still a presidential aspirant, Metuh said: “The truth is that I cannot tell whether she is presidential aspirant or not. Only the national organising secretary can state her status.

“I know that there was a time the party was begging her to collect her presidential nomination form, but her lawyers said otherwise and the party could not locate her.

“But as long as she has observed the presidential primary guidelines, nobody can stop her. There is a procedure of due process she ought to follow, but I am not aware that she has passed through this process.

“The president went through the processes, submitted his form, went through screening, but I am not sure she did so. As I said, only the national organising secretary can speak on her status.”

Metuh also said the party was not opposed to any presidential debate between Jonathan and any person that emerges as the presidential candidate of the APC, adding: “Such presidential debate must be issues based on the performance of the present administration, unity and prosperity of the nation.

“We welcome the opposition parties to a presidential debate and it must be an issues-based campaign and not a tissue of lies and propaganda.”

Metuh pointed out that Jonathan remains the best Nigerian president as records have shown in his performances, citing electoral reforms, agricultural reforms, improved road network and improved standards of living for all Nigerians.

According to him, “The president has been able to stabilise the polity by his pan-Nigerian outlook and approach to governance.  The stability of our nation has strengthened national unity.

“Today, he has been able to give every geo-political zone a sense of belonging in terms of infrastructure development, economic and human capital empowerment.

“Besides the visible and concrete infrastructure development in our nation, President Jonathan has been able to demonstrate a deep sense of equanimity in providing leadership in spite of the incendiary remarks by some opposition leaders.

“Amidst the recession and economic downturns in most nations of the world, our economy has been stabilised, our unity preserved and our democracy enhanced.
“Under President Jonathan, our nation has witnessed remarkable progress and landmark developments in all sectors of Nigerian public life, through his Transformation Agenda.

“The administration has revived the comatose railway transportation with some of the rail lines already in operation. Lagos-Kano is already in operation with new coaches providing improved services.

“Not only have the nation’s highways improved, ongoing works can be seen in almost all parts of the country.  When the Jonathan administration came on board, only 5,000 out of the 35,000 kilometres of federal roads were motorable. Today, the Jonathan government has rehabilitated and reconstructed 20,000 additional kilometres.

“The remaining 10,000 kilometres will be completed in the next three years while other new road projects will be executed.

“There have been monumental achievements in the agriculture sector, particularly in the distribution of fertiliser, development in the production of rice, cassava and other Nigerian staples.

“There are many more other achievements that are there for us to  show case. The Nigerian economy is growing at an average rate of 6.5 per cent.  The recent rebasing of the Nigerian economy, which makes it the largest in Africa and the 26th largest in the world, with a GDP of $510 billion, is a major achievement by the Jonathan government.

“There is no doubt that President Jonathan has simplified the task for us in the forthcoming presidential election.  Ours is to give expression to the positive narrative of performance by appealing to the sensibilities of well-meaning Nigerians to ignore the propaganda and salad of lies being served to them by the opposition, and join hands with us to give the president a second term mandate on February 14, 2015.

“Our party is therefore proud to present a credible and dependable candidate with an unquestionable character and we urge Nigerians to continue to stand by him as we march to victory in the 2015 general election.”

As at press time, security within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had been beefed up, with security agents manning all strategic locations in the city.

The police alongside the army had revved up their stop-and-search operations, while the Eagle Square had been decorated with the national and PDP colours.




Source: Thisday online