February Polls: We Are Headed For Victory – PDP

BEVERLY HILLS, January 18, (THEWILL) – The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said on Sunday that it was headed for victory in the February general elections. Briefing newsmen on the ongoing nationwide campaign of the party in Abuja, Metuh said in the last two weeks, the PDP presidential campaign train has visited states in the South West and South East geo-political zones of the country.

He therefore expressed the deep appreciation of the party to Nigerians for their support, goodwill and prayers for the President and standard-bearer, President Goodluck Jonathan.

The party also expressed profound gratitude to its supporters in states so far visited for their solidarity and resounding resolution to vote for President Jonathan and all PDP candidates in the general elections

According to the party, “In keeping with our avowed commitment to a peaceful electoral process, our campaigns have been orderly and on issues, devoid of unnecessary political mudslinging and acts of desperations, especially seeing the fact that a majority of the Nigerian voting population is with us.

“As we move along, one thing is clear, Nigerians from all walks of life identify with President Jonathan as a leader with very strong bond with the people and their well being, irrespective of religious, ethnic and political affiliations.”

“Our campaigns have been greeted by the turnout of millions of Nigerians who are eager to return our dear President to power come February 14.”

Metuh therefore assured that with the support of Nigerians, the party will not only win convincingly in the entire five states of the South East but also deal the APC a crushing defeat in South West states including Lagos state where the popularity and acceptability of our Presidential and governorship candidates have earned us tremendous support at the grass roots.

“As our campaign train moves to the north tomorrow, we leverage on the goodwill we enjoy from our citizens in that region. The north remains a stronghold of the PDP where in the last 16 years, we have enjoyed massive support and have continued to win majority votes as a result of our unprecedented performance in all sectors.

“Our strength lies in the fact that out of the 19 states of the north, the PDP controls 12 with solid structures, oiled over the years in all the wards and local government areas. The capacity of our winning machine is buoyed by the various tangible development projects that have hugely affected the lives of ordinary Nigerians in the north, a factor that has put us in vantage position to win back our original states of Sokoto, Kano, Nasarawa and Kwara as well as win in Borno, Yobe and Zamfara states.

“As we go to the north, we are not just asking for votes, we are coming loaded with verifiable achievements. For instance, in education, the once abandoned Almajiri boys can now go to school as President Jonathan initiated and established the Almajiri System of Education, the first of its kind, with over 150 special schools already built across the Northern states while others are nearing completion.”

“Also, out of the 14 new universities established by President Jonathan, nine are located in the northern states thereby ensuring that all states of the region have a federal university. This is in addition to establishment of new secondary schools and training of teachers for better quality education in the north,” PDP said.

According to Metuh, “Recognising that agriculture is the mainstay of the northern economy, President Jonathan ensured that out of the 2.7 million direct farm jobs achieved by this administration, over 2 million are in the north. He also established the e-wallet system, which eliminated the corruption in the distribution of fertilizer and other farm inputs thereby making the products directly accessible to millions of farmers in the region and this has boosted their productivity.

“Today, our silos are brimming and food pyramids are returning in the north.

“In the last four years, President Jonathan has committed enormous resources in tackling desertification in the region. This administration established more than 80 km of 15– row Green Belt in addition to the Presidential Initiative on Afforestation in Kano and 10 other Northern States.

Furthermore, the revitalisation of the railways by the Jonathan administration has connected major cities in the north to the extent that very soon it will become easy for Nigerians to live in states in the north and still work in Abuja as the Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge rail is expected to become operational in the first quarter of 2015.

“Today, the Minna-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano narrow gauge has been rehabilitated. The Markurdi-Lafia-Kuru-Bauchi-Gombe-Ashaka-Maiduguri, as well as the branch line from Kafanchan to Kaduna are at completion stages and will be operational soon.

On roads, the decades-long intractable Kano-Maiduguri highway that is the longest stretch in the country is being successfully tackled.

The Abuja-Lokoja road, a huge death trap that has witnessed uncountable number of accidents is now a delight for road travellers. This is just to mention a few. There are hundreds of such gigantic road projects going on in the region in addition to the dredging of the River Niger from Lokoja to Baro in Niger State.

“Against the backdrop of the achievements, a few of which we have just highlighted, we are going to the north, well-equipped with our record of performance.

“Our outing in the South West and South East shows clearly that the people of Nigeria are still with PDP and their admiration for our flag-bearer remains unprecedented. We are hoping for even more of that in the north.”