Plot Against PDP’ll Crumble – Jonathan

Chat212 - Mail Summary...

• Jonathan  boasted that the plot by opposition politicians against the ruling Peoples Democratic Party would fail.
• APC flayed the  President, saying he missed the point by  attempting  to compare the PDP  with the ANC.
• The President Stated: “We are told that some people are ganging up in different ways but we assure you that we are not afraid.

Chat212 - Mail News... Report

President Goodluck Jonathan  in Kaduna on Tuesday   boasted that the  plot  by opposition politicians against the ruling Peoples  Democratic Party would fail.

Jonathan, at  a  unity  rally  organised by the   North-West PDP in  Kaduna, recalled that in 1999 when “two or three political parties’’ formed an alliance against the PDP, “they didn’t go anywhere.”

He said, “We are told that some people are ganging up in different ways but we assure you that we are not afraid.

“From 1999 there were two or three parties that came together. They didn’t go anywhere.  If they gang up now, they will crash.

“I used to tell people that if you put different oil in a container; different  types of acid  in a container, what will come out from the content  of that is disaster. So the plot will not work. Don’t be worried;it is not a new thing.

“Look at great parties all over the world. They don’t change  every day like a rock that is metamorphosing. See the African National Congress  in South Africa  which is about 200 years old. It is older than Nigeria   but it has never changed its  name.

“ The PDP has never changed its  name. It is the leading party in Africa and  it can lead us to where we want to go. The party  is the only  democratic party where you can rise   to the highest level. Other parties will not give you  and I  the opportunity to move to where we want to go. So continue to support   and be in  the PDP.”

But the opposition  All Progressives Congress  flayed the  President, saying he missed the point by  attempting  to compare the PDP  with the ANC.

The APC, through its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,  said   Jonathan   should realise that the circumstances surrounding the formation of the ANC and the PDP were completely different.

It  said, “The circumstances surrounding the ANC is  different from that of the PDP. The ANC went through a struggle against apartheid and  all through that period it did not betray the  people of South Africa.

“That is why it has remained ANC over the years. The PDP on the other hand, has betrayed the Nigerian people since it was formed 16 years ago.

“Nigerians know under which party the Boko Haram menace has festered; they know under which party the  electricity situation has worsened; and  they also know which party has wasted public resources. So, all this rhetoric cannot help him(Jonathan) and  his party.”

The President also  said  at the rally     that the Speaker  of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, absented himself,  that the PDP  was the only  dominant party in the  country.

 He told the gathering that the party   would  in 2015   win in   Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara  states which make up the  North-West.

 He enjoined  the people   to be committed to the party because their  zone was “special” not only to the PDP  but to the political equation of the country.

Jonathan said,  “The  North-West  is a special zone. It is the only zone that we have seven states and the zone that has the highest population in this country. So this zone is  special.

“We  are here for a unity rally and to reassure all of you that the PDP is the only party that can lead this country to the next level.

“The PDP remains stable and formidable for the development of this nation. Let me  tell all Nigerians and the rest of the world that the  PDP is still the dominant party and this zone is still under the control of   the PDP. Come 2015, the  PDP is going to retain this zone.

“ We have Kaduna  and Jigawa states  and we will continue to retain Katsina State. We  will continue to retain Kebbi State. Kano State is a PDP state.

“Some  people   think that they can steal Kano State   from the PDP but with people who are re-joining   us, we will take  the  state back. Kano State will surely come back to the PDP. The same thing with Sokoto State. The PDP wants Sokoto State and   with those joining us today,   we will take over  the  state.

“The other state that has never been a PDP state is Zamfara. They are our friends and will join us.”

Jonathan had while being received by a team of traditional rulers from the North-West led by  the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, described Kaduna as a very tough state.

He commended the traditional rulers  for their support in ending the crisis in the state.

The President said, “Kaduna  is a very tough state which you know more than I do.

“Ordinarily, Kaduna would have been one of these states converted to  a lake of fire but for your cooperation with the government.”

The  rally was attended by Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa);     Usman Dankingari(Kebbi);    Godswill Akpabio(Akwa Ibom), Ibrahim Shema(Katsina);    Mukhtar Yero(Kaduna), Ibrahim Shema(Katsina); Ibrahim Dankwambo(Gombe); Theodore Orji(Abia); and  Seraike Dickson((Bayelsa).

Also present were     the PDP Board of Trustees   Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih; the PDP National Chairman,   Adamu Mu’Azu; the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku; the  Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador  Aminu Wali; the PDP National Vice-Chairman, North-West,  and Amb. Ibrahim Kazaure, among others.