According to reports by The Nation.
President Goodluck Jonathan told
supporters of Peoples Democratic Party
( PDP) in Rivers State yesterday that
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has
challenged him through his comment
that he had not done anything for
Rivers and Bayelsa people since he
became president .
He spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt,
the Rivers State capital, at the PDP
presidential campaign rally held at the
controversial Adokiye Amiesimaka
Sports Complex.
He told the people not to worry about
the comment, since it indirectly
described him as a honest president ,
who did not use the power of his office
to allocate slot for the Southsouth
states .
He added that if it was the other way
round , he would have been exposed him
before the world that he was only
concentrating development in the
Southsouth , as many people had
alleged.
The president, who came into the venue
at about 4: 40pm when most of the PDP
supporters had left the stadium after
waiting since morning, said he grew up
in Port Harcourt after his secondary
school education, adding that he would
not abandon the state , which, he said ,
he took as his home state .
He noted that his three -minute speech
was not to canvass vote, but to thank
Rivers people and the state PDP for the
trust they reposed in him.
Jonathan added that the crowed he saw
on the television before coming down to
the stadium showed that his election
and that of Wike “ is settled ” .
His words : ”I want to thank you and
appreciate the next governor of Rivers
State, Chief Nyesome Wike , and his
deputy , Dr. Ipalibo Banigo .
“ Because of the time factor, I would not
want to keep you here, but to use
the platform to address an important
issue.
“ I want everybody in this country to
hear this, the Director- General of Buhari
Presidential Campaign told their
supporters in Bayelsa and Rivers
states that the president had done
nothing for the two states . But don’t
worry; it is good news because the
people are saying that I have
concentrated development in the
Southsouth .”
He added: “ Before now , Bayelsa State
was part of Rivers State. Since I
finished my secondary school , I
relocated to Port Harcourt. When I
started my first job as a young officer
in the Custom , it was in Port Harcourt.
“ I attended University of Port Harcourt,
before I went to Rivers State Ministry of
Education and later, I started lecturing
in the Rivers State College of
Education .
“ I also worked at the defunct OPADEC
( Oil Producing Areas Development
Commission) as an assistant manager,
Environmental Protection. So, I have
been a part and parcel of this state . So ,
if the DG said I concentrated
development in other states and left the
Southsouth , it is good news . That
shows that I am a honest and
transparent man .
“ And if have concentrated on
developing the Southsouth the DG
would have been the one to expose me
to the rest of the world. But that shows
clearly that we meant well for this
country .
“ When we look at the university
allocation , we said the Federal
Government must ensure that all
Nigerian youths have the opportunity to
go to university . We did not look at the
North or South, but we ensured that all
the states that did not have Federal
universities got theirs.
“ That is our focus . I am not going to
comment on development in Rivers
State or any part of the state in this
region .
“ What I will assure is that you should
work for us ; vote for me and Sambo
and on February 28 , vote for Wike and
Ipalibo. Definitely we must leave
indelible print in Rivers State. We have
been challenged by Amaechi that we
have done anything ; we must do
something. ”
Also yesterday , Jonathan urged the
leaders of Ondo State Chapter of PDP
to sheathe their swords and unite to
make the party victorious in the general
elections.
The president, who spoke at his
campaign rally in Akure, the state
capital, said if the warring factions
failed to resolve their differences , it
might give opposition parties the upper
hands in the polls .
Jonathan , who specifically referred to
the friction between Governor Olusegun
Mimiko and Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim ,
said the party’s national leaders would
ensure that before the polls , the two
leaders harmonised and resolved the
crisis.
Before the PDP presidential candidate
delivered his speech, there was a mild
drama on the podium when the
National Chairman of PDP , Alhaji
Adamu Mua ’zu , was addressing the
crowd .
Some aggrieved state leaders of the
party prevented Mua’ zu from presenting
the party flags to Mimiko’ s candidates.
Since the defection of Mimiko to PDP ,
the party had been battling with crises ,
leading to parallel primaries .
Although , the Independent National
Electoral Commission ( INEC) had
pasted the list of Mimiko ’s candidates ,
while the other faction , mainly from old
PDP , maintained that they were the
authentic candidates since court had
ruled in their favour .
Therefore , candidates from the two
factions came to the rally, waiting
patiently to see which faction the
national chairman would recognise .
President Goodluck Jonathan told
supporters of Peoples Democratic Party
( PDP) in Rivers State yesterday that
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has
challenged him through his comment
that he had not done anything for
Rivers and Bayelsa people since he
became president .
He spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt,
the Rivers State capital, at the PDP
presidential campaign rally held at the
controversial Adokiye Amiesimaka
Sports Complex.
He told the people not to worry about
the comment, since it indirectly
described him as a honest president ,
who did not use the power of his office
to allocate slot for the Southsouth
states .
He added that if it was the other way
round , he would have been exposed him
before the world that he was only
concentrating development in the
Southsouth , as many people had
alleged.
The president, who came into the venue
at about 4: 40pm when most of the PDP
supporters had left the stadium after
waiting since morning, said he grew up
in Port Harcourt after his secondary
school education, adding that he would
not abandon the state , which, he said ,
he took as his home state .
He noted that his three -minute speech
was not to canvass vote, but to thank
Rivers people and the state PDP for the
trust they reposed in him.
Jonathan added that the crowed he saw
on the television before coming down to
the stadium showed that his election
and that of Wike “ is settled ” .
His words : ”I want to thank you and
appreciate the next governor of Rivers
State, Chief Nyesome Wike , and his
deputy , Dr. Ipalibo Banigo .
“ Because of the time factor, I would not
want to keep you here, but to use
the platform to address an important
issue.
“ I want everybody in this country to
hear this, the Director- General of Buhari
Presidential Campaign told their
supporters in Bayelsa and Rivers
states that the president had done
nothing for the two states . But don’t
worry; it is good news because the
people are saying that I have
concentrated development in the
Southsouth .”
He added: “ Before now , Bayelsa State
was part of Rivers State. Since I
finished my secondary school , I
relocated to Port Harcourt. When I
started my first job as a young officer
in the Custom , it was in Port Harcourt.
“ I attended University of Port Harcourt,
before I went to Rivers State Ministry of
Education and later, I started lecturing
in the Rivers State College of
Education .
“ I also worked at the defunct OPADEC
( Oil Producing Areas Development
Commission) as an assistant manager,
Environmental Protection. So, I have
been a part and parcel of this state . So ,
if the DG said I concentrated
development in other states and left the
Southsouth , it is good news . That
shows that I am a honest and
transparent man .
“ And if have concentrated on
developing the Southsouth the DG
would have been the one to expose me
to the rest of the world. But that shows
clearly that we meant well for this
country .
“ When we look at the university
allocation , we said the Federal
Government must ensure that all
Nigerian youths have the opportunity to
go to university . We did not look at the
North or South, but we ensured that all
the states that did not have Federal
universities got theirs.
“ That is our focus . I am not going to
comment on development in Rivers
State or any part of the state in this
region .
“ What I will assure is that you should
work for us ; vote for me and Sambo
and on February 28 , vote for Wike and
Ipalibo. Definitely we must leave
indelible print in Rivers State. We have
been challenged by Amaechi that we
have done anything ; we must do
something. ”
Also yesterday , Jonathan urged the
leaders of Ondo State Chapter of PDP
to sheathe their swords and unite to
make the party victorious in the general
elections.
The president, who spoke at his
campaign rally in Akure, the state
capital, said if the warring factions
failed to resolve their differences , it
might give opposition parties the upper
hands in the polls .
Jonathan , who specifically referred to
the friction between Governor Olusegun
Mimiko and Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim ,
said the party’s national leaders would
ensure that before the polls , the two
leaders harmonised and resolved the
crisis.
Before the PDP presidential candidate
delivered his speech, there was a mild
drama on the podium when the
National Chairman of PDP , Alhaji
Adamu Mua ’zu , was addressing the
crowd .
Some aggrieved state leaders of the
party prevented Mua’ zu from presenting
the party flags to Mimiko’ s candidates.
Since the defection of Mimiko to PDP ,
the party had been battling with crises ,
leading to parallel primaries .
Although , the Independent National
Electoral Commission ( INEC) had
pasted the list of Mimiko ’s candidates ,
while the other faction , mainly from old
PDP , maintained that they were the
authentic candidates since court had
ruled in their favour .
Therefore , candidates from the two
factions came to the rally, waiting
patiently to see which faction the
national chairman would recognise .
Your Comments Are What Shows Us How You Feel About The Topic. Join us on Facebook http://facebook.com/nigeriannewsreporters and Twitter @ngnewsreporters