If there is any power bloc in the ruling party that has so far walked the talk in ensuring that the party’s presidential candidate, Dr Goodluck Jonathan return to the Aso Rock, the seat of power in Nigeria, it is the ubiquitous Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, (PDPGF).
Having succeeded in sealing an automatic ticket for him at the party’s national executive committee meeting held last year, the governors have left no one in doubt about their determination in ensuring that their candidate retains the exalted office of the Presidency.
To those who expressed consternation over the proclamation of automatic ticket granted Dr Jonathan which they noted had no precedence in the party since its formation, chairman of the Forum and Akwa-Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio had replied them, arguing among other things that it was meant to deepen democracy and to reward the incumbent for his outstanding performance in office.
Hear him: ‘’It deepens democracy… I was asked this question by a member of the Congressional Black Caucus in the United States…. He said why the endorsement? And we explained. I said here is a president in spite of all distractions, he has remained focused in trying to transform the Nigerian economy and today even under the present circumstances, Nigeria is running the biggest economy in Africa.
“I didn’t say so, it is World Bank and the international agencies. And we have been rated the 24th economy in Africa. What we need to do now is to translate that into job creation for our children and to bring more industries to Nigeria and to attract more investments.
“But of course we cannot rest on our oars. We must work harder to improve the power sector and the impetus in the agricultural sector.
So that endorsement, for me , deepens democracy in every sense of the word and also signals to the world that Nigeria has arrived in terms of democratization.
“Don’t forget that the PDP is modeled after the Democratic Party of America that has almost similar practice. When they see a performing president in America, they don’t allow him to go for unnecessary primaries and that was what happened with Barack Obama.
“Obama didn’t go through any primary in the Democratic Party. And so the governors of Nigeria took a look at the best practices of democracies worldwide and that endorsement came and was rectified by the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of our great party.
“It is the first time such is happening since 1960 and we congratulate all Nigerians and all stakeholders that took part in that endorsement.
And I can assure you that it will allow the president to focus on the main elections and the business of governing the country,” the governor, had said.
Daily Sun’s checks revealed that some of the governors, who incidentally hold forte as chairmen of similar platforms, such as Northern States Governors Forum, and the Nigeria Governors Forum have been engaged in rigorous campaigns, in their respective states and zones towards ensuring victory for the party’s presidential candidate ahead of the election which comes up in few days.
Jigawa state governor and coordinator of the ruling party’s presidential campaigns in the North-west zone, Sule Lamido has remained unflustered in his resolve to ensure fresh mandate for the party’s presidential candidate, despite entreaties from his counterparts in the main opposition party .
While advising the electorate in the zone already presumed as General Buhari’s stronghold not to allow themselves to be intimidated, he dismissed the APC at a presidential rally in Dutse, as a platform for aggrieved politicians with no coherent programme for Nigerians.
He further said: “I urge (northern) leaders to stand up and say ‘no to this culture of blackmail’ where we have been taken hostages by people who mean nothing for Nigeria….
“In APC their only necklace is Buhari, their only decoration is Buhari. Remove Buhari from APC, that party becomes dead and there is no way Nigeria’s hope will be pinned on a single individual; it does not work. Which means if there is no Buhari, there is no Nigeria. There will be Nigeria after five years, there will be Nigeria after Jonathan, there will be Nigeria after Buhari because there had been Nigeria before Jonathan, before Buhari.” he declared.
Daily Sun checks revealed that Ondo State governor and chairman, PDP Governors, South-west zone, Governor Olusegun Mimmiko, has been unrelenting in marketing the party presidential candidate in the zone, believed to be a stronghold of the main opposition party and strong ally of the North in the 2015 power struggle.
The governor at a session with newsmen in Ile-Ife, Osun state capital, dis¬missed APC’s moves to take over from the ruling party in May, as a mere propaganda, which, he submitted , would not affect Jonathan’s chances in Yoruba land as well as the entire country.
He said: “With all sense of modesty, President Jona¬than will have more than 75 per cent votes in Yoruba land in the presidential election. APC is well grounded in pro¬paganda and the super struc¬ture of their programmes is propaganda. But their propa¬ganda will not stop Jonathan from coasting to victory on March 28.
“Jonathan has the political goodwill that would ensure his victory in the forthcoming presidential election. Apart from the huge and landmark transformation his adminis¬tration has brought to this country in his first tenure, his party, the PDP, has been an advocate of true federal¬ism in Nigeria,” Mimiko submitted.
The culmination of their efforts in showcasing Jonathan’s achievements was the summit which took place, penultimate week in Lagos, where the governors in their individual presentations enunciated the achievements of the Jonathan administration in the last four years and ultimately, dismissed the APC presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari as posing no threat to the ruling party.
In his paper, “Sustenance of Democratic Values and National Development,” chairman of the Forum, Godswill Akpabio made an instructive clarification: that those against General Buhari had no issue with his age, but the age of his ideas, which he noted are anachronistic and could not meet the demands of the 21st century Nigeria.
Governor Akpabio said: ‘’We are aware that some people have complained about the age of General Buhari. But we do not see anything wrong with his age, if he thinks he can withstand the rigors of the job.
‘’But we are extremely concerned about the age of his ideas. We are concerned that a man who could not take charge when he was in his 40s but rather bequeathed, to historical infamy, a regime named after two people, (Idiagbon/Buhari regime, instead of one person as has always been the case) cannot take charge at 73 when his health would need constant monitoring.
‘’We are concerned about the age of his ideas because 50 years after the first coup, hinged on fighting corruption, Buhari is still thinking of using the same subterfuge to deceive us today. We dare not allow anyone to use a 50-year-old trick to destroy our democratic values. We are wiser today.
‘’This is why the choices before our nation in this election are either engaging our reverse gear or our drive gear. If we want to move forward, then we must move into drive mode with President Goodluck Jonathan and cross this Jordan River into a land reflecting the promises of our founding fathers.’’
Akpabio further argued that the ruling party has widened the democratic space by encouraging the culture of dissent and ensuring transparent, free and fair elections.
‘’To PDP, sustaining democratic values is a creed. Since President Jonathan came to power, there has been free reign of opinions. To enhance this right, the administration enacted the Freedom of Information Act and it is on record that no single individual in the country under the Jonathan administration has been hounded on account of having a viewpoint.
‘’President Goodluck Jonathan and indeed PDP have shown an abiding faith to democratic values. He has also shown uncommon commitment to internal party democracy. Under his watch, the nation has witnessed remarkable improvement in the conduct of elections in the country, such that every subsequent election has been better than the preceding one. And it is expected that the 2015 election will be much better than the 2011 election.
“By ensuring credible elections, President Jonathan is not only deepening democratic values and ethos, but has placed Nigeria on the part of true greatness.
‘’President Goodluck Jonathan has been transformational in his leadership of this country. APC is talking change, and talk is cheap.
What we need now is transformation – not change. Transformation is what turns the larva into a butterfly, and what will take our country up where the eagles fly. Transformation will give us a better nation.
‘’Change is an amorphous term and it could be positive or negative.
APC has made change a mantra but they have not shown whether they want change for good or for bad.
‘’But one thing is certain; any change that is not planned would lead to disaster. We cannot risk our future on a toss of the dice by APC.
We personally suspect that they want to change Nigeria from being a country to being a part of somebody’s private estate.
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