PDP insists Jonathan will defeat Buhari in the North

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has boasted that its Presidential flagbearer, President Goodluck Jonathan will beat the APC candidate, retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari, fair and square in the north, come February 14, 2015.

According to the party, with the soaring popularity of President Jonathan among the voting population across
the country, it would win more than two-third of the total votes cast as well as the required 25 percent in all the states of the federation.

This was disclosed by party’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh in a statement on Saturday.He added that President Jonathan would beat Buhari in the north, not only because the PDP controls 12 out of the 19 states of the region, but

also because the citizens are pleased with the numerous development projects he executed in the region.

The party contended that the various projects and appointments in the north had placed President Jonathan ahead of Buhari, especially following the fact that the APC presidential candidate never executed any in the region when he was head of state and had so far failed to articulate an acceptable blue-print for development.

“Indeed, Nigerians in the north are eager to re-elect President Goodluck Jonathan come February 14, 2015. Voters in the region appreciate the direct positive impact of the
numerous development projects executed by the Jonathan administration in all sectors of life.

“They appreciate the fact that recognizing that agriculture is the mainstay of the northern economy, President Jonathan ensured that out of the 2.7 million direct farm jobs achieved by his administration, over 2 million are in the north.

“They appreciate the fact that President Jonathan established the e-wallet system, which eliminated the corruption in the distribution of fertilizer and other farmputs,
making the products directly accessible to millions of farmers in the region thereby boosting their productivity. They appreciate the fact that silos are brimming and food pyramids are returning in the
north.

“In education, President Jonathan’s imprint in the north remains indelible. Today, the once relegated Almajiri boys can now go to school following the establishment of the Almajiri System of Education, the first of its kind, with over 150 special schools already built, while others are nearing completion, a noble idea, General Buhari never thought of when he was head of

state.

“Also, out of the 14 new universities established by President Jonathan, 9 are located in the northern states, thereby ensuring that all states of the region have a federal university. This is in addition to the establishment of new secondary schools and training of teachers for quality education in the region.

“Furthermore, our citizens in the north are happy with President Jonathan for his efforts in tackling desertification in the region especially with the establish of more than 80 km of 15–row Green Belt in addition to the Presidential Initiative on Afforestation in Kano and 10 other Northern States”.

According to the PDP spokesman, President Jonathan had increased attention to the health need of the area, especially the interventions towards polio eradication and treatment of VVF among others, adding that President Jonathan has
indeed repositioned the region for prosperity.

The party pointed out that the north stood to benefit immensely from the revitalization of the railways, especially the rehabilitation of the Minna-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano narrow gauge, the Makurdi-Lafia-Kuru-Bauchi-Gombe-Ashaka-Maiduguri line and the
branch line from Kafanchan to Kaduna, which are expected to
increase productivity in the region.

The party also noted that roads in the region had received serious attention under Jonathan, citing the decades-long intractable Kano-Maiduguri highway, the longest stretch in the country, which is now being successfully tackled in addition to the Abuja-Lokoja road, which is now a delight for road travellers.

Noting that there are hundreds of such gigantic road projects going on in the region, the PDP said that the dredging of the River Niger from Lokoja to Baro in Niger State have also contributed in placing the north on a sure path to
economic prosperity.

It also cited the acceleration of work on the Geregu power station, the 700MW Zungeru Hydro-Power, the 3,050MW Mambilla Hydro-Power among others in addition to various
dam projects including the Kashimbila Multipurpose Dam, which is being built to contain flood from Lake Nyos in Cameroon.

The PDP insisted that Nigerians in the north were mindful of the fact that their collective interest and
aspiration were better protected under Jonathan, hence the support and eagerness to re-elect him come February 14.

Presidential Debate, Platform To Showcase Jonathan's Achievements – PDP Campaign

SAN FRANCISCO, February 01, (THEWILL) – The Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (PDPPCO) said on Sunday that a presidential debate would afford its candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan, a platform to showcase his record of achievements in office.

The PDPPCO said it believed that the Nigerian people, who are yet to make up their minds, would take a decision based on the arguments of candidates at the debate, stressing that while President Jonathan would be speaking on his achievements and those things he would do with a renewed mandate, his major opponent, General Muhammadu Buhari, if he changes his mind to attend the debate, will only be making empty promises.

Director of Media and Publicity of the Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, who stated this however told journalists in Abuja that a majority of Nigerians have already taken their decision to vote for President Jonathan because “they have seen the efforts of this government and what has been going on for the last four years.”

Fani-Kayode stated that “but for those that are yet to decide and perhaps for those who are leaning towards Buhari, if we have a live debate and everybody is allowed to speak his or her mind freely and fairly, I assure you that by the end of that exercise, General Buhari will be exposed for what he is and President Jonathan will be able to give the Nigerian people a glimpse of what he has to offer and also a good account of his records for the last four years.

“That is why the other side is running away. So, I think at the end of the exercise, after such a debate, whether APC-organised or whether organised by anybody else, President Jonathan will come out in flying colours while General Buhari will come out a very unhappy man.”

He reiterated that the APC, whose candidate does not want to participate in the debate, should “organise the debate, fill the panel with friends, set the questions, give copies of the questions to their candidate before the debate and even prepare answers for him.

“They can do all that; and not only will we still attend but we will also floor them. We will make any concession in order to have the opportunity to debate with Buhari and show the Nigerian people how empty and shallow he (Buhari) really is.”

According to Fani-Kayode, “We have stated our position loud and clear that our candidate is prepared to participate in any debate organised by anybody at anytime and anywhere in this country provided it is live and provided we have the opportunity to speak our mind in a free and fair manner.

“As a matter of fact, let me take this opportunity to throw the challenge to the APC and General Buhari: if it will make him feel more comfortable, let them organise the debate; let it be an APC-organised debate; let them have an APC panel; let them have questions that they will show their candidate even before we get there; we do not need to see the questions; let them give their candidate a preview of the questions; they can even have a prepared answer for their candidate to read if he finds it difficult to articulate his views and positions. We are prepared for all that.“It is the other side that is running away from this challenge. One wonders why. We have absolute confidence in Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) and, indeed, in anybody else to organise the debate.

“Let them have all those advantages and tell us about what they are going to do. As long as it is a live debate, we will be prepared to go even to that debate; and, even at that point, under those circumstances, we would floor General Buhari and the President will do an admirable job by letting the Nigerian people know precisely what he stands for and he will also expose General Buhari for what he is.

“So, whatever the circumstances, we are ready to go. The challenge has been put to them; we are waiting for them to respond. Anywhere, anytime in this country, we are prepared to participate. It is the other side that is running away.”

Responding to a question on the allegation of unhidden bias against the organisers of the BON debate, Fani-Kayode said that the PDPPCO had complete faith in the organisers.

According to him, “We have complete faith in those that have been organising this debate; they have been doing it for years and it is an allegation that is quite baseless. That is precisely why we are saying that if they are not comfortable with BON or anybody else; then we are telling you loud and clear that the APC themselves with their party members organise a debate.

“Let them be the ones to organise it; let them set up the panel; let them bring out the questions; let them show their candidate the questions before hand and let them prepare answers to those questions for their candidate. Let them write it down for him; let them come and we will still debate with them as long as it is live and as long as our candidate is allowed to give his answers and as long as he is not cut short.

“As long as they would do that, we are ready to debate with them. Even in those circumstances, General Muhammadu Buhari would not be able to stand against President Goodluck Jonathan. They know that; we know that and the entire country knows that and that is why they are running away.”

Buhari's Wife Campaign For Peaceful Elections

All progressives congress women in Adamawa state have joint their male counterpart of ensure victory in all the February 2015 general elections,as the wife of the party presidential aspirant, Mrs Aishatu Buhari, has urged women to work for peaceful general election,she said is needful and necessary because of the fragile peace that the country is managing to sustained.

"Though as I want all of the women to vote for APC all through, no any contrary view to change our voting pattern as a party, if you are voting,vote for APC from head to toe because is a party of change". Buhari said

Buhari made the call Friday in Yola while addressing an APC Women Presidential Campaign Initiative town hall meeting.

Buhari who was represented by Mrs Zainab Nyako, said women have a critical role to play towards a peaceful election and victory of APC at all levels.

" It is also imperative, for us to educate our party members on peaceful conduct before, during and after elections.

" We should avoid violence in all it's ramifications because this is one area that the ruling party is looking up to discredit the efforts and successes of our party", Buhari said.

She also stressed the need on voter education and urged women coordinators of Buhari campaign organization in the state and local government levels to canvass for vote door to door and person to person.

Speaking at the occasion, Adamawa Coordinator of the Women Presidential Campaign Initiative, Mrs Faith Pukuma, and Adamawa APC Women Leader, Hajiya Hauwa Koma, declared the commitment of the party women to mobilized voters for APC.

They pointed out that Adamawa being the home state of Aishatu Buhari, they would handle the campaign with all vigor for their daughter.

BUHARI FINALLY SPEAKS: Reveal Reasons He His Running

“Fellow Nigerians, People accuse me of many things. But one thing they never accuse me of is corruption. They never accuse me of mediocrity, or of lying. People accuse me of many things. I have led this country and I have a record. We were not perfect, but we were effective; we solved problems, and we made Nigerians proud. In our government, we fought corruption, we stabilized the

Naira, and we shut down insurgency. We shouldn’t forget so soon that there was the Maitatsine ravaging the North east and we dealt with it. We also overran the Chadian rebels.We rebuilt industries, Nigerians queued up and treated each

other with respect; Nigerians took pride in our reputation for discipline.

The world admired us. We were proud to be Nigerians. However, because they can’t attack our record, they accuse me falsely of ethnic jingoism; they accuse me falsely of religious fundamentalism . Because they cannot attack our record, they accuse us falsely of calling for election violence – when we have only insisted on peace. Even as Head of State, we never imposed Shariah. All my running mates have been either Igbo or Yoruba and are always devout Christian of indisputable repute. I have and will continue to condemn those who burn God’s places of worship, be they churches or mosques and wish God’s judgment upon them. As your President, their punishment won’t stop there, we will also ensure Boko Haram and other such elements, are found, are arrested and face the full wrath of the law as punishment for their crimes against our country.

My dear friends, this is very important to note: It doesn’t matter if you are Igbo,Yoruba, Ijaw, Hausa, Idoma, Efik, Ekwere, Urhobo, Igala and, no, it does not matter if you are Christian, Muslim,animist or atheist: we need a new direction under a new leadership. The task ahead will be challenging and daunting, but it is surmountable. This is what leadership is about. My only desire is to prove to you that Nigeria can truly work. Allow me prove to you that in your lifetime, you can be proud of this country.

Let me make you this promise today: We will protect your children. We will protect your wealth. We will make this country work again. This is why I am running for the office of the president of Nigeria. This is my promise.” – Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR)

Buhari Beating Jonathan In AIT Online Poll Despite Ongoing Propaganda Documentary Against Him

An online poll set up by African Independent Television (AIT), a television station which belongs to one of President Goodluck Jonathan’s closest friends, has further underlined his unpopularity as the opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, is currently defeating him by at least 75 per cent.

To add insult to injury, AIT has since last Saturday been running a documentary aimed at hurting the public perception of Buhari. The hour-long documentary, “The Real Buhari”, reportedly costs the Jonathan campaign N5 million each time it is aired.

The campaign also made a copy of the documentary available online but rather than do damage to Buhari’s support, it seems to have further emboldened his supporters to troop online to vote massively for him.

In similar online polls conducted by Saharareporters, Buhari also defeated Jonathan by a wide margin.

In reaction to the first of those unfavorable polls, Reno Omokri, who serves as Mr. Jonathan’s social media aide, rushed out to set up another poll on Facebook he called “BuildNigeria”.

But when it became clear that Buhari was defeating Jonathan in his own poll, Reno manipulated the poll and hurriedly closed it after managing to put Jonathan ahead by a mere 1%.