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Ahmadu
Ali, former PDP chairman and director-general of the PCO, presents report to President Jonathan
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President Goodluck
Jonathan has, for the first time, questioned the results of the March 28
presidential election, maintaining that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is
still the dominant party in Nigeria.
Jonathan had
congratulated Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress
(APC), before the final result was announced but has now said he only did
it for the unity of Nigeria.
He said the PDP could
not have recorded the low scores recorded for him in some areas.
The president was
speaking on Thursday at the submission of the report of the PDP Presidential
Campaign Organization (PPCO) at the new banquet hall of the presidential villa.
TheCable reports:
Jonathan said: “PDP is
still the dominant party. If you look at the result, the difference is just
over two million votes. And if you look at the areas where it is perceived that
PDP scored so low, PDP couldn’t have gotten those kinds of scores.”
He said now that the
elections are over, “I put the country first”.
That Nigeria is at
peace is worth celebrating, Jonathan said, appearing to confirm reports that
some western countries had put ships on standby to evacuate their citizens in
preparation for a post-election crisis in Nigeria.
He said: “The countries
that brought ships, everything around us, waiting to evacuate their citizens
are happy because there was nobody to evacuate. The country was so tensed but
everything has gone down now and I think that is the most important thing
because the conviction is that you must have a country before you can run for
an office.
“Nigeria is a very
complex country and you must manage it with care. Yes, I did not
consult anybody before I made that phone call but I made that phone call
on behalf of all you and on behalf of the PDP.”
Jonathan said the PDP
remains “the most organized party” and one that is not owned by “anybody”,
urging them to put the loss in the 2015 elections behind and bounce back in
2019.
“The key thing isn’t
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,” he
said.
”And for PDP whatever
happened now is like a slip, you don’t need to go to America to know how power
goes from the Democrats to the Republicans… it has almost stabilized. It is
like once you serve eight years you are ready to hand over to either the
Republicans or the Democrats. So theirs is almost an established setting. But
our neighbour Ghana, the present ruling party lost some eight years back and,
of course, they came back and won the elections.
“So the problem is not
whether we lost the elections. That is history now but how do we consolidate
our party and move forward? If we are committed and if we work very hard,
definitely PDP will bounce back.
“PDP is still the
dominant party. If you look at the result, the difference is just over two
million votes and if you look at the areas where it is perceived that PDP
scored so low, PDP couldn’t have gotten those kinds of scores but the elections
are over, we put the country first.
”It is not as if
Jonathan alone made the sacrifice. It’s 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, PDP will continue to come up strong.
“Even in the interest
of the nation, we need PDP. I still believe though we have lost
presidential election, some national assembly elections, governorship elections
especially in the north, PDP is still the dominant party. Let us not judge PDP
by the results of 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. PDP is still the most organized party, it
is still the party that is not owned by anybody, it is still the party that
whatever you are you can get to any level with your competences and so on.
“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 50 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 (APC) will first touch the primary members of their party,
before they get to you, they know you are coming because you are
hungry. 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.”
Ahmadu Ali, former PDP
chairman and director-general of the PCO, commended Jonathan for showing
“exemplary leadership” and making the PDP proud despite losing.
Tony Anenih, chairman
of PDP’s board of trustees, said the party that will prepare for the 2019
must be formed now.
He said: “We experienced
betrayals and conspiracy but let us put all that behind us and work hard to
remain a strong and formidable party.”
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