People have been “buying and selling votes” since Nigeria’s
independence in 1960, President Goodluck Jonathan
yesterday said, noting that there had not been any free and
fair elections in the country since then.
Jonathan said this must stop! He therefore urged Nigerians,
especially the youths, not to allow anybody to buy their
votes during the forth coming elections.
He made the call at Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital,
while addressing a large crowd of supporters of the
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the Abakaliki
Township Stadium in the course of his nationwide wide
campaign.
Addressing youths whom he said were the leaders of the
next generation, Jonathan emphasised that they must not
allow themselves to be bought over by politicians who do
not mean well for them.
“Our campaign is for the young people. Our time is almost
gone. We must change our circumstance.
The young people should join us. Nobody should deceive
you; nobody should buy your votes. Since 1960, we have
been buying and selling votes and we don’t want to
continue like this. If you want development, you have to
join PDP to develop”he said.
Speaking on the position of women, Jonathan said women
would continue to play pivotal roles in his government and
he could not wait to see a female president rule Nigeria.
“For women, your vote is crucial. We have given identity to
Nigerian women.
This is not the end.
We want Nigerian women to be paraded at the global level.
We must expose our women.
“This is the only administration that is ready to give every
position to women.
My aspiration is to see a female president before I die,”he
further noted.
He also noted that the development challenge facing
Ebonyi, was daunting, being one of the last states to be
created along with his home state of Bayelsa, by the
military administration, adding that the Federal Government
would rely on the state to ensure that its policy of stopping
the importation of rice into the country in the next four
years was achieved.
On job creation, Jonathan said:“That is one of the reasons
we are giving such scholarships so that in future, Nigerians
will be able to produce some of our basic needs;
countries that are at our levels have advanced so much.
I remember that Alhaji Maitama Sule had always said that
the Defence Industry in Nigeria with that of Brazil were
established at the same time but while that of Brazil is
now manufacturing aircraft, our own is busy manufacturing
chairs.
We say we must change that and for you to change that,
you must change the manpower to do that.