FROM LEFT: GOV. ISA YUGUDA OF BAUCHI STATE; PDP NATIONAL CHAIRMAN ADAMU MUAZU; PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN; SENATE PRESIDENT DAVID MARK AND GOV.IBRAHIM DANKWAMBO OF GOMBE, AT THE PDP RALLY IN BAUCHI ON SATURDAY (29/3/14).
President Goodluck Jonathan will beat the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari in the north, come February 14, 2015.
This was the assertion of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which noted that President Jonathan’s soaring popularity among the voting population across the country is an evidence.
Speaking through its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, in a statement, Saturday, the party said President Jonathan will beat Buhari with more than two-third of the total votes cast, as well as the required 25 percent in all the states of the federation.
Metuh noted that this was 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 PDP said the various projects and appointments in the north have placed Jonathan ahead of Buhari in the mind of the people of the north, especially due to the fact that the APC presidential candidate never executed any project in the region when he was head of state and has 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”.
Another reason cited by the PDP was the increased attention given to the health needs of the region, especially the interventions towards polio eradication and treatment of VVF among others.
The party also noted that roads in the region, that have been abandoned for long have received serious attention under Jonathan, citing the Kano-Maiduguri highway, the longest stretch in the country.
Other projects cited by the party include revitalization of the railways, especially the rehabilitation of the Minna-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano narrow gauge, the Markurdi-Lafia-Kuru-Bauchi-Gombe-Ashaka-Maiduguri line and the branch line from Kafanchan to Kaduna, the dredging of the River Niger from Lokoja to Baro in Niger State, the acceleration of work on the Geregu power station, the 700MW Zungeru Hydro-Power, the 3,050MW Mambilla Hydro-Power and various dam projects including the Kashimbila Multipurpose Dam, which is being built to contain flood from Lake Nyos in Cameroon.
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