The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan will defeat the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari hands down in the Northern part of the country at the Saturday, February 14, 2015 presidential polls, adding that the President will also win more than two-thirds of all votes cast as well as 25% of votes in all states.
Making this assertion via a statement on Saturday, January 31, 2015, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh said President Jonathan will floor General Buhari in the North because the 12 of the 19 states in the region are rules by PDP governors and also because the people of the region were satisfied with the numerous developmental projects being carried out.
He said: “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”.
Metuh further pointed to the glowing transportation transformation being carried out in the North by President Jonathan as further proof that he means well for the region, citing the resurrection 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.
He also noted that roads like the Kano-Maiduguri highway as well as the Abuja-Lokoja road are currently experiencing massive face-lift, not forgetting the dredging of River Niger from Lokoja to Baro in Niger State
To further drive his point home, Metuh also mentioned the speed of work being done on the Geregu power station, the 700MW Zungeru Hydro-Power, the 3,050MW Mambilla Hydro-Power in addition to dam projects like the Kashimbila Multipurpose Damwhich was built to help curb flooding from Cameroon’s Lake Nyos.
