PANIC GRIPS PDP

By NBF News

For the second time this week, President Goodluck Jonathan, again yesterday, met leaders of the party at Legacy House, the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) presidential campaign secretariat.

The PDP presidential candidate was at Legacy House on Wednesday, where he met members of the Presidential Campaign Council to appraise their plans and preparations for tomorrow's National Assembly elections and the presidential elections which follows thereafter on April 16.

Daily Sun findings revealed that during yesterday's session with members of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), the president expressed his concern over feelers that the party was virtually not on ground in some states and could have put up a dismal performance before last Saturday's polls was botched.

'The President impressed it on them to ensure that the party's performance in tomorrow's election is a morale booster before the presidential election,'' a Daily Sun source noted.

The source further disclosed that against the backdrop of feelers that PDP could lose a sizeable number of seats in the Senate, members of the PCC examined the grim implication of losing its majority status in the National Assembly, particularly in the red chamber while members offered suggestions on how to counter the perceived onslaught of opposition parties, particularly the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in tomorrow's election.

It would be recalled that the Vice-President, Namadi Sambo had since relocated to his home state of Kaduna, since the beginning of the week to ensure victory for the PDP. Meanwhile, as Nigerians go to the polls tomorrow, to elect National Assembly members after a previous fiasco, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to plug all the loopholes that led to the costly failure of last week's election.

In a statement issued today by his media office in Abuja, the former vice president said considering the enthusiasm that greeted Jega's appointment as INEC chairman, the electoral body carries a heavy burden of meeting the expectations of Nigerians and the international community. Atiku said goodwill was a major factor for the success of any organization and that the repeat outcome of the National Assembly election tomorrow, would determine whether such goodwill remained or evaporated.

The former vice president noted that INEC must go the extra mile to ensure that this repeat election is hitch-free. 'The outcome of this election (National Assembly) would go a long way in determining the success of the next stages and the attitude of Nigerians to the ability of INEC to conduct free and fair election,' Atiku said.

He also urged eligible Nigerians not to allow last week's temporary set-back to dampen their enthusiasm to come out once again to vote leaders of their choice. He noted that democracy affords the people the opportunity for peaceful change and therefore advised Nigerians not to miss this opportunity.