President Goodluck Jonathan on
Thursday picked holes in the
results of the March 28 presidential
election, saying “the Peoples
Democratic Party couldn’t have got
those kinds of scores” it had in
some places.
Jonathan, who spoke shortly after
receiving the report of the Senator
Ahmadu Ali-led PDP Presidential
Campaign Organisation at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja, however
advised that since the general
elections were over, the country
must be allowed to move forward.
He added that apart from himself
that quickly conceded defeat to the
All Progressives Congress
candidate, Muhammadu Buhari,
many PDP members also made
sacrifices because they were
persecuted in the course of
electioneering.
The President said, “The problem is
not whether we lost the elections,
that is history, but how do we
consolidate our party and move
forward? If we are committed and
we work hard, definitely the PDP
will bounce back.
“The PDP is still the dominant
party. If you look at the results, the
difference is just 2.5 million votes
and if you look at the areas where it
is perceived that the PDP scored so
low, the PDP couldn’t have got
those kinds of scores but the
elections are over, so the country
first.
“It is not as if Jonathan alone made
the sacrifice, it is all of us. I made
the pronouncement but some of us
are paying the price.
“Some people pay more price than
I do, I know how some of you are
already being persecuted and the
kind of situation facing you.
“The key thing is that we must
continue to unite, as a party; we
must continue to work hard so that
as we go into subsequent elections
in 2019, 2023 and so on and so forth,
the PDP will continue to come up
strong. Even in the interest of the
nation, we need the PDP.
“I still believe, though we have lost
presidential election, some
National Assembly elections,
governorship elections especially
in the North, the PDP is still the
dominant party.
“Let us not judge the PDP by the
results of the elections for the
presidential election.
“Our duty is to go back and identify
areas of challenges so that the
party will come up strong and play
the role as a very strong party. The
PDP is still the most organised
party, is still the party that is not
owned by anybody, is still the party
that whatever you are, you can get
to any level with your
competencies and so on.”
The President also said that all
members of the PDP who defected
to the APC would return with
empty stomachs.
He said that it was not unlikely that
the APC leaders would first settle
their members before thinking of
those who joined them midway.
Jonathan added that “food” might
have finished before it gets to the
turn of the PDP defectors .
He urged party faithful to remain
committed to the PDP, adding that
even if it was difficult in the
beginning; their aim would be
achieved at last.
The President said, “I encourage
members of our party to remain
loyal to the party; not to be so
disillusioned because we lost
presidential election and decide to
go where they think they will fill
their stomachs or something.
“It is not easy. I have been here for
five years plus, you hardly satisfy
even 15 per cent of those who work
for you.
“So, those people running and
those already cross-carpeting, they
will come back on an empty
stomach because they will touch
the primary members of their party
before they get to them.
“They know you are coming
because you are hungry; and
before it will get to you, the food
will be gone.
“So, let us be committed to the
party, yes we will have challenges
at the beginning but surely we will
get to where we want to be.”
The President said although he did
not consult before calling Buhari
on the telephone to concede
defeat, he took that step on behalf
of the PDP.
“Yes, I did not consult anybody
before I made that phone call (to
Buhari) but I made that phone call
on behalf of all of you and on behalf
of the PDP, “ he said.
Jonathan likened the 2015 elections
to the nation’s civil war, saying
people would give different
accounts of the event depending
on the angle from where they were
reporting.
He however said because of his
privileged position, he knew about
the elections more than any other
person.
He said the issue was not about his
electoral loss, but the need to
consolidate the party and move
forward.
He said, “The issues of this 2015
elections will be similar to the civil
war because different people gave
different accounts of the civil war.
“The first book on civil war that I
read was ‘My Command’ by Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo, which is his
perspectives on what he saw and
observed. I recall (Chukwuemeka)
Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s own was
‘Because I’m Involved.’
“I know that the issues of the 2015
general elections, may be after few
years when political scientists will
write, we will get different
perspectives.
“If you ask the various observer
groups, each will give you a
different perspective. Even among
ourselves whenever we talk
sometimes I laugh when people
draw some of their analysis but by
my privileged position, I know a
little more about the elections than
others.
“But the key thing is not whether
we lost or won but that Nigeria as a
nation must move forward. Political
parties can only thrive when there
is peace and stability in the
country. If there is military
intervention all the parties will
disappear.”
The President also argued that
despite the loss that the PDP
suffered in all the elections, it
remained the dominant party in
the country.
Jonathan expressed delight that
countries that brought ships to
Nigeria and were waiting to
evacuate their citizens in case post-
election crisis broke out did not
have any reason to do so.
The Chairman, Board of Trustees of
the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih,
attributed PDP’s loss to what he
called conspiracies and betrayals by
people trusted by the party chiefs.
Anenih however said they needed
to put that behind them and look at
how they could build a party that
would serve as a vibrant opposition
to the APC.
“There is a lot to be done. We need
a very vibrant and strong party that
can stand in as a strong opposition
party; a party that can stand well in
the next election. That party has to
be put in place now. I believe that
we are on the right path,” he said.
Ali said the lessons learnt from the
elections would be used to wrest
power from the APC in 2019.
He said it was saddening that the
PDP lost despite all the energy it
put into the electioneering.
Ali also said the report would
provide a road map for the PDP to
move forward.
He described the campaigns in the
36 states of the federation as
largely successful except for a few
incidents in some states.
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
