Akure Stands Still for Jonathan as Buhari Fires Up Jalingo

 Jonathan in Akure, and Buhari in Jalingo

• President: Why I’ve done nothing for South-south

• APC candidate restates goal to end Boko Haram insurgency

Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt, James Sowole in Akure, Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Wole Ayodele in Jalingo
Akure came to a halt on Wednesday when the campaign train of President Goodluck Jonathan and his deputy, Namadi Sambo, arrived in the Ondo State capital with the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Also, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), held Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, spellbound when he restated his commitment to bring the Boko Haram insurgency to an end.

Though Jonathan and his entourage did not get to the Democracy Park, venue of the PDP presidential campaign stump till 11.35 am, the entire arena was filled with party supporters mobilised from the 18 local government areas of the state as early as 8.00 in the morning.

The declaration of a work-free day yesterday gave many workers the opportunity to participate in the rally, while markets and shops around the venue were closed, just as traffic was diverted from the main Oyemekun/Adesida road.

The tumultuous crowd that witnessed the rally was publicly acknowledged by various speakers, who expressed delight that the people of the state were in support of the PDP.

The rally brought to Akure the top leadership of the party including the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Director-General, Ahmadu Ali; the PDP National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu; former Governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel; and Senator Bode Olajumoke, among others.

However, the crisis rocking the state chapter of the PDP came to the fore at the rally as Jonathan publicly acknowledged that all was not well with the party, saying: “We have issues in Ondo State PDP.”

THISDAY learnt that the president arrived in Akure on Tuesday in order to hold consultations with the aggrieved party leaders in the state with a view to resolving the crisis within the party. The meeting lasted till the early hours of Wednesday.

It was gathered that the inability to reach a detente prevented the president and the party leadership from presenting flags to candidates of the party, as there were parallel candidates for nearly all the state House of Assembly and National Assembly positions in the state.

Jonathan, who highlighted some of the things that his administration had done in the state, said all that he required from the people was for them to vote for the various candidates of the party in the forthcoming elections so that more dividends of democracy could come to the state.

“All we request from you is your votes. When you vote for the House of Assembly members, the House of Representatives positions, the senate members and, of course for the presidential candidate of the party, we will work with your government to make sure that we give you the best,” he said.

Jonathan enjoined the three leaders of the party in the state, Governor Olusegun Mimiko, businessman Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim and Chief Olusola Oke, to close ranks and resolve the issues rocking the party in the state.

“For the PDP family, I use this platform to state that we will work hard to make sure that Jimoh Ibrahim and the governor join hands together and talk about the interest of the state.

“Mimiko, Ibrahim and Oke, three of them must sit down to discuss the development of the state. They must not sit down to discuss personal things or individual interests. They must work together to make sure that collectively, we will attain the development of the state and the nation at large,” he said.

Jonathan also enjoined politicians to always put the interest of the electorate first in all that they do, adding: “Everything about politics is about the people.”

From Akure, the president proceeded to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he acknowledged that he had not concentrated development in the South-south region because of his quest for equitable distribution of resources in the country.

Speaking at the presidential rally of his party at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Jonathan admitted that he had been criticised by people in the region that his presidency had not favoured the area and promised to redress the situation when re-elected.

“What I want to tell you and the rest of the country is that the Director-General of APC Presidential Campaign Organisation (Chibuike Amaechi), when he was in Yenagoa and when he was in Port Harcourt mentioned clearly that the president has done nothing for the two states.

“Don’t worry, it is a good news because people are saying that I concentrated development in the South-south. Bayelsa State was part of Rivers State. I am part of this state. Since I finished by secondary school, I have been in Port Harcourt.

“I started my first job as a young officer in the Customs. Of course, I attended the University of Port Harcourt and started lecturing in the Rivers State College of Education. So I have been part and parcel of this state.

“So if I don’t concentrate development in this zone, that means there has not been development in Rivers and Bayelsa States. The DG is telling Nigerians that I have not done this. That means that I am a transparent person and I did not allocate positions to my people.

“The director-general would have been the very first person to expose me to the rest of the whole world; not just in Nigeria, he would have taken me to America, South Africa, to France and to the UK. But that shows clearly that we meant well for this country, and that in terms of development, every part of Nigeria must be taken along,” he said.

He promised to take the challenge posed to him by Amaechi by developing the region when re-elected.

In his presentation, the PDP governorship candidate in Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, said he was certain the party would win the state.
He also said he had been vindicated following the use of the stadium for the rally because the governor had earlier said the PDP would not fill half of the stadium for the rally.

In her own speech, First Lady Patience Jonathan urged women to vote for the PDP because of the prominence the party had accorded women.

Meanwhile, Buhari, while addressing a mammoth crowd in Jalingo, restated his commitment to end the menace of Boko Haram in the North-east.

Buhari stated that youth unemployment was a major catalyst for the insurgency and promised to tackle the issue vigorously if elected president.

According to Buhari, “60 per cent of Nigerians are youths and majority of them are jobless and this is greatly responsible for the frightening spate of the insurgency in the country.”

Enumerating his strategy to address the situation, Buhari said he would ensure the completion of the Mambilla hydro power plant and dam to generate massive employment for Nigerian youths.

Besides generating massive employment, Buhari also stated that the completion of the power plant would guarantee adequate and stable electricity supply to industries and factories, which would in turn guarantee job security.

He enjoined the electorate in Taraba to go and collect their permanent voters’ cards (PVCs) in order to effect the necessary change required at this critical period in the nation’s history, just as he charged them to cast their votes and wait for the results before going to their homes.

Also addressing the gathering, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who joined the APC presidential campaign rally for the first time, said the Buhari presidency would bring positive change, peace and development to the country.

Atiku described Taraba State as the hub of democracy in the North-east zone, and thanked the people of the state for their continuous support, stressing that he had never sponsored a candidate that lost an election in the state.

In another incident, the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation has accused Jonathan of lacking in competence, capacity and training to deal with Boko Haram.

A statement by the Director of Media and Publicity of the campaign organisation, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the claim by the president during his campaign visit to Maiduguri, capital of Borno State and hotbed of the insurgency, that he would deal with the menace of the terrorists looks more like a joke or mere talk designed for the occasion of the campaign event.

“President Jonathan has been at the helm of affairs in Nigeria for more than five years. During this time, the Boko Haram has transformed from a group of armed delinquents to an active fighting group or movement without the government headed by President Jonathan able to contain it. It is childish for the same person to say that he would deal with a group that became a monster under his watch.

“President Jonathan is advised to stop the careless talk about dealing with Boko Haram because he clearly has shown little appreciation and leadership in the area of national security,” the APC campaign organisation said.

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