Lagos Island stood still as President Goodluck
Jonathan flagged off his re-election campaign
in the nation’s former federal capital.
Supporters of the party’s governorship
candidates in the South-West, who were
bussed in for the function, also seized the
opportunity to

show off their principals on
poster boards.
The only exception was Minister of State for
the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Ms Jumoke
Akinjide, whose posters, with the inscription,
“Jumoke for Jonathan”, were conspicuously
carried by many women in the arena.
On ground to add colour to the flag-off were
Nollywood actors and actresses led by the
President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN),
Ibinabo Fibersima.
Other celebrities, who made brief solidarity
speeches, include Mr Segun Arinze, Joseph
Benjamin, Kate Henshaw, Monalisa Chinda
and Onyeka Onwenu.
Gospel artiste Sammy Okposo, Double Wahala
crooner Oritsefemi and popular Fuji musician,
Obesere, thrilled the crowd at the flag-off
ground.
Super Eagles skipper, Joseph Yobo, also
canvassed votes for the president.
One of the highlights of the flag-off ceremony
was the presentation of the PDP governorship
flag bearers in the South-West with the party’s
flag, which was carried out by the party
National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu‘azu.
Jonathan a true democrat—Mimiko
Ondo State governor and South-West
Chairman of the Goodluck/Sambo Presidential
Campaign Organisation, Dr Olusegun Mimiko,
was first to fire the salvo.
He hit at the presidential candidate of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), General
Mohammadu Buhari (rtd), on his academic
qualification, which has stirred controversy in
the polity.
Mimiko recently rejoined the PDP after leaving
the Labour Party.


He said: “I stand on firm ground to state
categorically that hardly is there any home in
Lagos and indeed the Southwest that cannot
boast of tenth generation school certificate
holders. This is why, among others, we will not
settle for a President with less than a
university degree.”
Reeling out the achievements of the Jonathan
administration, Mimiko said: “You have
allowed the private sector to thrive, yet you
have not abandoned the under-privileged of
the society. While the private sector is
encouraged to invest massively in agriculture,
power, aviation and other strategic sectors of
the economy, you are also building Almajiri
schools and unprecedentedly expanding
access to tertiary education. You are
proactively investing in Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and providing
productive engagement for our young ones in
Agriculture, ICT and the creative industry.
Continuing, he said, “Benin-Ore-Shagamu
expressway is witnessing massive
rehabilitation, the Lagos-Kano rail lines,
moribund for over 15years have been re-
activated, agriculture has regained its pride of
place and you have strengthened our
democratic institutions through free, fair and
credible elections. I am convinced that the
hands of Goodluck Jonathan that started
these good works will surely complete them.”
Solidarity speeches were delivered by the
Director General of the Jonathan/Sambo PCO,
Senator Ahmadu Ali, Governor Babangida
Aliyu of Niger State, Chief Olabode George,
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and
Senate President, Senator David Mark.
They were unanimous in their remarks on why
Jonathan should be re-elected.
Following speeches by PDP Governors Forum
Chairman, Governor Godswill Akpabio, and the
PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu,
the President delivered his speech which, he
said, would be mainly directed at the youths
on the claim that his generation was a failure.
Vice-President Namadi Sambo, in his remarks,
urged the people to reject the message of the
opposition in Lagos.


Jonathan hits at the opposition
In his speech, Jonathan did not hide his
feelings as he hit back at his opponents, who
have consistently thrown mud at his
administration.
While addressing youths at the campaign
ground, the President told them to work for
the future of Nigeria, through hard work and
dedication, adding that the youths are the
ones to take the country to the moon.
He also said that voting for the opposition
APC was like returning Nigerians to prison.
The President, who had all serving governors
of the PDP and some principal officials of the
National Assembly in attendance, repeatedly
flayed the campaign agenda and
endorsements received by his main challenger,
General Buhari.
He, however, did not mention Buhari by name
in his nearly 30 minutes speech.
Jonathan, for the first time, also disclosed
that the October 1, 2010 attack by the
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger
Delta, MEND, on the Eagle Square, Abuja was
an assassination attempt directed at him.
‘Our generation has failed’
Saying his generation has failed, he stated, “I
believe that the young Nigerians are the
future, we are finished. We believe that the
youths will be the ones that will take us to the
moon, my generation has failed because we
could not take Nigeria to the moon.”


He continued: “I don’t want to address old
people like me because we (his generation)
are spent already. I am going to dwell on
three things because those who said they are
going to take over from the PDP have been
telling a lot of lies. They have hired people all
over the world and are feeding people with lies
on the social media. They are painting all
sorts of colours and giving you all sorts of
claims that they cannot defend.”
He listed the three points as his
administration’s attitude towards corruption;
alleged weakness of his government and the
perception of lack of planning.
Noting the challenge from Buhari on the
administration’s alleged failure to address the
insecurity in the land, the President said:
“They talked about insecurity. They said they
will fight insecurity. And I ask, are our armed
forces weak? If we have problems, what is the
cause? Equipment. Somebody who told young
people that he is going to fight insecurity, ask
him if he bought one rifle for Nigerian soldiers
when he was the Head of State. These people
did not buy anything for the Nigerian soldiers.
They refused to equip them. Ask them what
they did with their defense budget.


“They said my government is corrupt and that
we are not fighting corruption. Only yesterday,
I addressed anti-corruption agencies and told
them that people are deceiving young
Nigerians. I said that they must tell Nigerians
what they are doing.
“We have arrested more people and done
more convictions. Let me apologise to some
Nigerian federal civil servants who did not
receive their December salaries early enough
and I will tell you what happened. I apologise
to those families that suffered because we
believe and I believe that for you to fight
corruption, we must take measures. If they
had succeeded in fighting corruption,
corruption would not have been with us today.
If they had set up structures especially with
the days of modern science and technology
using ICT, to manage resources, we would not
have been talking about corruption today.


Fight against corruption

“What happened in December was because of
a software that is used for processing salary
packages. Sometimes, people steal through
salaries and some Federal Government
agencies, including some ministries, try to
divert funds to try and pay for some
allowances and the system is scientific. It is
not a human being. Once money meant to pay
salaries is diverted, it shuts you down and
those departments of government were shut
down. This is the only way you can prevent
corruption.”
Jonathan also noted the administration’s
success in combating corruption in the
agriculture sector especially through fertiliser
distribution.
The President explained his administration’s
success in effective distribution of petroleum
products affirming that Nigerians do not have
to sleep in petrol stations to buy fuel.
Arms procurement


Alluding to issues that haunted the
administration arising from the procurement
of arms, he said: “We talked about corruption
and they say that the military is corrupt. When
this crisis of insecurity came up, we had
nothing; so to get military hardware quickly,
we had to use vendors to procure them; but
now, what we are doing is government to
government transaction. Any new procurement
we are doing, whether for the Air Force, Navy
or Army, is government to government. There
is nothing like corruption any more even if we
had some issues. Is that not the way to fight
corruption?
“You must prevent people from touching your
money and this is what government is doing
and succeeding in a number of areas
especially in the procurement area. If you look
at it, we are reducing corruption.”


Umaru Dikko’s abduction
Referring to the aborted kidnap of Alhaji
Umaru Dikko from Britain by the Buhari
administration in 1984, Jonathan said: “They
say we are weak but we know that there were
some people who, while they were abroad,
some people drugged them and put them in
crates and attempted to fly them to Nigeria
but they were intercepted by superior powers.
That blocked Nigerians from even going to
Britain; the whole world isolated Nigeria. They
say that is the best way to fight corruption. Is
that the way to stop corruption? Not to follow
due process? So, immediately I suspect your
uncle, I just go and crate him and put him in
Kirikiri (Kirikiri Prison). Is that the way to stop
corruption?”


Noting that Buhari’s anti-corruption stance
was a posture to deal with enemies, he said:
“They want power at all costs, all they want to
use power for is to lock up and imprison their
enemies. I have no enemies to fight. I won’t
stop corruption by arresting people and
putting them in jail. You cannot stop
corruption that way.”
In a throw back to the military era, he referred
to the Buhari regime which he said had no
single woman in his cabinet. In a shocker
before he concluded, the President, who had
earlier in 2010 defended MEND of allegations
of orchestrating the 2010 Independence Day
bomb attack at the Eagle Square, Abuja,
reversed himself, saying the attack was an
assassination attempt on him

.
He said: “Let me say one thing and conclude. I
read in a paper recently where it said ‘MEND
dumps Jonathan’. I am from the Niger Delta,
the leader of MEND is one Okar. Okar is in a
South African prison because on October 1,
2010, when we were to celebrate our 50th
Independence anniversary, Okar was hired by
some Nigerians to assassinate me.
“Okar bombed Abuja and the attempt was to
assassinate me but intelligence report from
South Africa hinted me on the plan to
assassinate me. He is now in jail in South
Africa and they said MEND dumped Jonathan.
Okar that wanted to assassinate Jonathan,
will he support Jonathan

http://www..com/2015/01/a-survivor-of-boko-haram-attack-on-baga.html

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/01/why-i-should-be-re-elected-jonathan/

Uhn!!

You should be re-elected for good work to continue... GEJ till 2019!!!

ok

Oh well, you should be re-elected to work in any zoo within Nigeria as an illiterate and inarticulate zoologist, Mr. fedora hat wearing weasel.

Your time is up, and you deserve a first ballot on the wall of shame as the worst president ever to rule a country.

Go back to ya village!

We will vote for the best man.

SirShymex:
Oh well, you should be re-elected to work in any zoo within Nigeria as an illiterate and inarticulate zoologist, Mr. fedora hat wearing weasel.

Your time is up, and you deserve a first ballot on the wall of shame as the worst president ever to rule a country.

Go back to ya village!

trash section please


meanwhile, GEJ till 2019, no long thing

Buhari is not the best option for Nigeria.. Where are the other 9 parties.. Lalasticlala / ishilove g'morning

farano:
We will vote for the best man.

yes, and that best man is goodluck ebele jonathan gcfr , Msc, B.sc, hnd, pdp, nta, ait and common entrance

Jonathan's achievement exist only on the pages of Newspapers...

patrickmuf:
Jonathan's achievement exist only on the pages of Newspapers...

Are you blind?