PRESIDENT JONATHAN’S TRIUMPHANT ENTRY INTO RIVERS STATE

By Eberechi Kennedy

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) has continued to make unrelented efforts in ensuring that President Goodluck Jonathan is re-elected for a second term in office. To this end, the President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan together with his campaign team has been on a campaign trail across the different geopolitical zones of the country. The campaign rallies so far have been true reflections of the wide acceptability of President Goodluck Jonathan in all zones of the countryas the electorate has continued to throng out to welcome Jonathan and the party to their respective states.

Perhaps, most significant of all the PDP Presidential campaign visits so far is the one held in Rivers State on Wednesday. It would be recalled that Rivers State was run by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) until the defection of its governor Rotimi Amaechi in late 2013 to the main opposition, All Progressives Congress (APC). Since then, it has been a flashpoint for violence between supporters of the two parties, with long-standing complaints from Amaechi about a personal campaign against him by the government in Abuja.

More so, the declaration of Governor Amaechi that President Jonathan would not use the Adokiye Amasiemeka stadium; a stadium that was used by the APC Presidential Candidate on January 6, 2015 under the pretence that it is still uncompleted was a huge factor to be considered. If the stadium is still uncompleted as Amaechi and his media friends made us to believe, logically, its percentage of completion as of January 26, 2015 would be higher than it was on January 6, 2015.

Against all odds, the PDP Presidential Campaign rally held at the Adokiye Amasiemeka stadium in what could be described as a home coming for a true son of the soil. President Jonathan and his campaign team made a triumphant entry into Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State as the rally emphasized the supremacy of PDP in Rivers State.

In an interview at the stadium, the Deputy Finance Committee Chairman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organization; Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Juliet Olejeme said that the Rivers people and residents of the state have displayed their love for their son, President Goodluck Jonathan. She expressed confidence that Rivers people will turn out in their numbers to vote for President Jonathan come February 14. According to Olejeme; “Jonathan will secure over 2million votes in Rivers State in the forthcoming election and will go ahead to get re-elected by majority of valid votes across the country. The reason is simple. His campaign is based on visible democracy dividends that dot the landscape of the country, while his opponents rely on false-hood and photo-shopped images that have been exposed by vigilant Nigerians as the height of bare-faced corruption”.

Highlighting some of the very fundamental achievements that have been recorded by the Jonathan administration in Rivers State, Dr. Ngozi Olejeme noted that the East-West road, which has reached 75% completion under the watch of President Jonathan with the stretch of the road in Rivers almost completed, has impacted the economy of Rivers State positively.

In addition, she said that President Jonathan has completed the first phase of the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt International Airport with modern aviation facilities in place with the second phase progressing steadily. Also, she stated that the President has approved the establishment of Federal Polytechnic, Oil and Gas in Bonny Island and One billion naira has already been released for the take off of this institution.

Furthermore, Olejeme enthused that through the MDG office, President Jonathan completed over 400 projects in all local government areas of Rivers State and empowered thousands of Rivers youths through the Sure P programme. “The NDDC has helped in connecting several riverine communities through flagship projects approved by President Jonathan. NDDC has reclaimed land through sand-filing in many riverine communities, a project that Jonathan has committed to continue in his second term”, the Amazon added.

Conclusively, Dr. Olejeme expressed satisfaction that these achievements form the premise upon which over 95 percent of the Rivers people have pitched their tent with Jonathan. She therefore indulged the good people of Rivers State and Nigeria at large not to allow the opposition to have access to the Presidency, so as to ensure the continuity of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan for the good and well-being of Nigerians.