President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday, March 2, 2015 met with all aspirants on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Presidential Villa Abuja, where he preached party unity.
At the meeting, President Jonathan spoke of the strength of the PDP, stating in no uncertain terms that no political party could match the PDP.
He also condemned the intimidation tactics of the opposition party, a subliminal swipe at the All Progressives Congress (APC), adding that they (APC) could not equal the achievements of their governors if juxtaposed.
He said: “I am convinced that up to this time, there is no party that can beat PDP. All we need is unity. There is no party that is formidable like PDP.
“PDP is not just the largest party in the country, but also the only party that has members in all voting units across the country. Even if 10 political parties come together, they cannot reach PDP’s level.
“PDP has done well over the years, and I challenged the opposition to match the party on performances of their governors, state-by-state.
“They intimidate us to the extent that they intimidate us even in states where we have PDP governors. We will not allow those who are not up to us in terms of performance to continue to intimidate us.
“At the national level, we cannot compare our standards with theirs, because they have not had the experience and we will not give them the opportunity because I know they will not do well.
“PDP is the only party that brings about peace in this country. And I always say that when you see people talking and you see the bitterness in their hearts, you see the frustration, the anger, and you see them as people who are already feeling guilty.
“If you don’t have a forgiving heart, if you don’t have a clean heart, you cannot rule Nigeria, because you cannot give what you don’t have.
“From 1999 till date, the PDP has done well. If they parade one state to show their performance, we will provide our own state to counter them. PDP states have done more. We must collectively project PDP and sell the party to the electorates.”
President Jonathan also fingered his refusal to sanction the same-sex bill as the reason for dwindling foreign support.
He said: “It does not matter what our former partners feel because we did pass the same-sex bill. We are a nation with culture; we have tradition.
“We have taken our decision and we will abide by it and believe me, the whole of Africa are looking up to us in Nigeria.”
See photos from the meeting below. They were posted on social media platform, Twitter by the Special Adviser to President Jonathan on media and publicity.
Strategizing….Party leaders, Governors & Gubernatorial candidates at the Villa, Mon. #ForwardMarch pic.twitter.com/rQO8SlGkSv
— Reuben Abati (@abati1990) March 2, 2015
Strategizing….Party leaders, Governors & Gubernatorial candidates at the Villa, Mon. #ForwardMarch #PDP pic.twitter.com/zNJFZfpmse
— Reuben Abati (@abati1990) March 2, 2015
Strategizing….Party leaders, Governors & Gubernatorial candidates at the Villa, Mon. #ForwardMarch #PDP pic.twitter.com/0r59dmkksP
— Reuben Abati (@abati1990) March 2, 2015
Strategizing….Party leaders, Governors & Gubernatorial candidates at the Villa, Mon. #ForwardMarch #PDP pic.twitter.com/vt17tlXY62
— Reuben Abati (@abati1990) March 2, 2015
