Kogi State Governor Idris Wada, addressing a tumultuous crowd of stakeholders of the PDP at the Glass House wing of the Government House, Lokoja Tuesday enumerated the benefits accrued to the state from its cordial relationship with president Goodluck Jonathan and the presidency, in the last six years and declared that the PDP presidential candidate deserved the highest percentage possible from the electorate in Kogi State in the February 14 poll.
By Wada’s estimation Kogi will surpass the 75 percent votes recorded for the incumbent at the 2011 polls.
Wada said Jonathan had performed creditably well to deserve another term, particularly from the electorate in Kogi. He listed road infrastructure, agriculture, education and energy as sectors the state has benefited immensely from President Jonathan’s benevolence and urged party members and the people of the state to make sure their gratitude to the Jonathan Administration reflects on the ballot by voting en masse for PDP’s candidates, in the elections of the president, senators and House of Representatives slated for same day.
The governor, who is also Director-General of the PDP Campaign Committee in Kogi State, re-affirmed the unwavering commitment and support of the people of the state for the second term bid of President Goodluck Jonathan.
“We are prepared and determined to surpass this record in the 2015 elections. We must never go below what he scored in the 2011 election. We must make sure we score higher percentage for Goodluck Jonathan in the February 14 election. We must never go below what he scored in the 2011 election”, Wada said to a laud applause from the gathering of thousands of party loyalists, among them youth groups and women organizations.
He added, “That will strength my arm when I go to him to ask for something on behalf of Kogi State. Every pockets of aggrieved people all of us should make sure they’re calmed down, whatever issues are there to be resolved, after the election, we will still be here to resolve any of the issues.
Election is a big project, we all have our various experiences , whatever we must do, we have to do to make sure that we have to win with a very large margin.
Some appointees tend to do anti-party, if you do anti -party you are the looser. One, if we identify you, we’ll push you out. Some say they are going to do anti-person. If you do anti-person when the person is put up by the party, what you have done is anti-party.
Kogi State holds a very special place in the heart of Mr President. The government and people of Kogi State also holds Mr President in a very special place in our hearts.
” It is important to mention some of the things that the Federal Government under President Jonathan has done in the life this administration for which we do not have a choice but to continue to show our appreciation and the only way we can do that is to return the gestures with our votes. As you go round, you can say these things with confidence. Goodluck Jonathan has done well. The song of the opposition is that he has done nothing. Look at the Abuja -Lokoja dual carriageway, started long before he came to office, he gave it a priority and now the road is almost completed. By the grace of God by middle of this year, you will be driving free from here to Abuja in one and a half hours.
The Lokoja Port is about 70 percent completed. The River Niger has been dredged where ships will be bringing goods from the Lagos port to upload here in Lokoja and distribute to other parts of Northern Nigeria. The Port is at advance stage of completion and will be completed at the end of this year. President Jonathan will complete the project if he is reelected.”
He lusted notable federal presence in Kogi for which the people of the state are grateful to Jonathan to include.
The federal university in Lokoja, the staple crops processing zone in Alape on 15000 hectares of land, capable of creating multiple employment for both the youths., women and our elders, 435 megawatts turbine plants at Geregu commissioned by Jonathan.
“Geregu 1 and Geregu 2 have been commissioned and we are expecting Geregu 3, If we return the president to power in February “
The Ajaokuta steel complex moribund for 30 years but now witnessing a lot of activities going on and the Kabba -Egbe-Ilorin road are important projects initiated in his state by Jonathan.
“Serious construction work is on going on the Kabba-Egbe road, the contract having been approved by President Jonathan. It will get to Ilorin eventually but that will depend on the Jonathan administration returning.”
The governor also admonished party leaders and members in the state to shun religious imputations to the electioneering campaign ahead of the February polls. According to him, Nigerians, both Muslims and Christians should be voted for based on capability and not religion. He said only God can judge everyone according to their deeds, a decision he noted was better left to God to make on judgment day and not in the hands of humans.
Describing the 2015 polls as most critical in the post-independent Nigeria, the governor enjoined Kogi people to do all within legal and peaceful ambits to ensure that the PDP presidential candidate is retained in the presidential villa for another four years.
According to Wada, “By the grace of God PDP is going to win the presidential election, we would not just win, but win convincingly.”
Stressing the need for reconciliation of aggrieved members while also appealing to those who left the party in the aftermaths of the last PDP primaries to return to the fold of the party, Governor Wada disclosed holding marathon meetings with all sections of the membership including winners and losers of the last primaries and enthused that the efforts had been rewarding.
He said, “every time we have a party exercise, like Congress or primaries or elections, there will be one or two issues that need to be resolved, we have some people who are aggrieved, some people when they make it, they show unnecessary arrogance that annoys the people they contested against. I have met with those who competed in the last primaries, I have talked to them, I have appealed to them.; for those who won to extend their arms of follower ship to carry everybody along, and for those who lost, they should wait for another day. Whatever went wrong, there’s no point doing anti -party because at the end, if the party loses, you are also the loser. You cannot because one child annoys you and drive every other children away from your house. Your duty is to call them back and guide them in the right way. If you remain within the party, you have the opportunity to resolve those issues and move forward together as a family because at the end of the day it is a family. “
He added, “I have talked to them, I have tried to appease many of them and I believe, we are back together and working in concert with our determination to deliver the state 100 percent to president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. A few have left to other parties please those of you who know those who have left should talk to them and tell them you do not build a house for 16 years and then suddenly you decide to leave the house for another person to come and occupy. It is better you stay in the house and patch whatever is wrong with it than to go to somewhere where even to acquire land is going to take you four years. How about building the house, it means you’ll be squatting for five years. So it is better to stay here and let your brothers and sisters extend hands of fellowship and for you to make it at some point in future.”
As part of the massive job of reconciliation he had embarked upon in the party, the governor said a reconciliation committee to be headed by Dr Sule Odoma and cuts across the three senatorial zones, respected leaders and politicians has been mandated go round to meet the remaining pockets of aggrieved members “between now and the visit of Mr President to our state on the third of February”.
The state chapter of the PDP, as part of the importance attached to the February 3 visit of the presidential campaign train, Wada disclosed plans to receive the team at the new Lokoja Confluence stadium. He directed full mobilization of members and supporters of the party from all the 21 local government areas.
In a welcome remarks, Prince Olushola Akanmode, Deputy Director General, President Jonathan campaign organization in the state, called for hard work on the part of members of the PDP disclosing that the task to deliver all PDP candidates in the forth coming general election is achievable.
Akanmode said the party has the capacity to deliver in the february election,urged them to avoid rumour and not to be intimidated by the noise making of the opposition politicians.
He appealed to the party members to go into the election with optimism and to have a winning attitude, disclosing that the party remains a party to beat in the forth coming election.
