PDP Governors Assure Jonathan Of Their Support In 2015 Re-Election

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, who is also the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, on Tuesday, assured that the party’s governors are solidly behind President Goodluck Jonathan if he intends to seek re-election in 2015.

The governor made this known while speaking to NAN reporter after the forums’ meeting with President Jonathan.

Similarly, Jonathan also received assurance from members of the PDP caucus in the House of Representatives on the same subject during a meeting. The PDP lawmakers passed a vote of confidence on Jonathan, and urged him to re-run for the top position in 2015.

 Other governors who graced the meeting include Benue, Bayelsa, Enugu, Abia, Jigawa, Ebonyi, Delta, Kogi, Kebbi, Gombe, Bauchi, Katsina, and Sokoto, who was represented by his deputy.

“Members of the PDP Governor’s Forum were present when the NASS Caucus declared their support for the president. I do not want to pre-empt the action of PDP Governors, but I can attest to their loyalty and their commitment to the success of Mr President come 2015,’’ Akpabio said.

Akpabio revealed that the meeting which was also attended by members of the National Working Committee of the party led by the National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, brainstormed on how to deepen internal democracy, as well as how to keep the affection of the electorate towards the PDP in 2015.

“We meet with the president based on the fact that in the next few months, we shall be going into major primaries, so we want to deepen internal democracy. We want to strategise on how best we can hold primaries free from rancour and by implication also ensure that we bring out the best candidates. Taking a cue from what had happened in Ekiti, if we are able to carry out proper internal democracy, then the main election will be less rancorous. At the end the party will sail through with a view to getting up two-thirds of the states of the federation as it was when we started in 1999,” he said.

  

Akpabio hinted that the forum commends the president for his giant strides in the education sector, especially the Almajiri schools.

“The Jonathan government has built over 150 Almajiri schools and he is trying to tackle the insecurity in the northern part of Nigeria using education. He is the first Nigerian president to establish up to 10 federal universities at a go which is highly commendable. We equally commend his giant strides in the power sector and other areas. We believe that our performance will still endear us to Nigerians and that is what we looking forward to. Politics is all about democracy dividends, not about propaganda, so those who want to do propaganda can do so,” he said.