Skip to main content

2019: PDP remains Nigeria’s strongest party — Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday that the PDP remains the biggest and strongest party to beat in the 2019 general elections.  

He said that the party’s defeat at the 2015 general elections was a minor and temporary setback, which he said will not affect its chances in 2019.
Speaking when he received a delegation of the PDP Strategy and Inter-Party Affairs Committee, led by Prof. Jerry Gana, in his residence in Abuja, yesterday, Jonathan  called for the strengthening of democratic institutions in the country. 
“PDP is still the biggest and the strongest party. Irrespective of what happened in the 2015 general elections, yes, we lost the presidential election but that doesn’t diminished us; every other party still knows that PDP is a leading party. 
“Losing the presidency is something temporary; we should be able to get that position back as long as we are able to get our act together. I am happy that you people are working towards that,” he said.
The former president, who received a copy of the committee’s report, however, advocated the use of more statutory delegates for the party’s primaries to check imposition of candidates in future elections. 
“Direct primaries is the ultimate, it is the best way of selecting candidates but the greatest problem society has is how to manage direct primaries.‎
“I will say that if you cannot do direct primaries, let us make sure that we increase the number of statutory delegates; people who have held offices in the party at different levels, even if it is the level of counselors,” the former president said.
‎Jonathan added: “I am among the persons who believe that for a nation to grow, the institutions must be very strong, just like you mentioned about INEC. There is no way a nation will grow with weak institutions because everything about politics is about the people, not about the individuals.
“And as long as you are interested in the people, you are also interested in the growth of the society, and the development of the nation,” he said.

Dailytrust

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

GHANA: NDC condemns NPP attack on members

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed dissatisfaction about the alleged unprovoked attacks on members of the Party, following the Electoral Commission’s declaration of the results of the 2016 Presidential Elections. “We have received several reports of unprovoked physical attacks on supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), across the country,” a statement issued by the NDC National Organiser in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency said. “We wish to request the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and President-elect Nana Akufo Addo to call on their supporters to desist from the attacks and contribute to building a more stable democracy. These attacks are nothing more than situations that can only create chaos should the attacked also decide to defend themselves. “While urging the Security Agencies to move in and protect life and property, we believe that our political parties must be interested in promoting political tolerance among...

KATSINA: SSG APPOINTS ‘YAR’ADUA’ AS NEW CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY

The Secretary to the government of Katsina State, Dr. Mustapha  Mohammed Inuwa has approved the appointment of Alhaji Abdullahi Aliyu Yaradua as the new Chief Press Secretary of his office. Yar’adua holds a Diploma in Hausa Studies from Katsina Polytechnic; Higher Diploma in Mass Communication from Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic and a Diploma in Journalism from International Institute of Journalism (IIJ), Abuja. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Al-Qalam University Katsina and a Masters Degree in English Literature from Bayero University, Kano. Before his appointment, Yar’adua was the Head of Political Unit of Katsina State Radio and  two terms Chairman of NUJ Katsina State Radio Chapel and the immediate past Secretary of the Katsina state Council of the NUJ.  Credit: Katsinapost

Homosexuality: One Auwalu Yusuf in prison for raping 2 boys in KANKARA

A Katsina magistrate court has remanded one Auwalu Yusuf, 25, of Maddobal village in Kankara town for allegedly sodomizing  two teenagers aged between 12-14 years. Yusuf, who was apprehended and handed over to the police by vigilante officers at the community, was charged with unnatural offence contrary to Section 284 of the Penal Code. According to the Police First Information Report read at the court, the accused criminally entised the victims with his money by taking them to Pole Wire side at Dandutse Quarters and individually sodomised them. The prosecutor, Inspector Kabir Mohammed, told the court that the victims reported the matter to their elder brother who in turn reported the matter to the vigilante, adding that upon interrogation, the said Auwal Yusuf confessed to have committed the act. The presiding magistrate, Fadila Dikko, remanded the accused and adjourned t he case to February 23, saying that it was brought for mention only as the court has no jurisdicti...