Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo has inaugurated the Kaduna State Chapter of the Goodluck/Sambo Presidential Campaign Committee yesterday with a tall order to the committee to make sure the President gets at least two million votes in the February 14 Presidential election.
The vice-president who also commissioned the newly renovated secretariat of the campaign organization expressed confidence in the ability of the state to meet this target, adding that the party has kept faith with its promises to the State by its various meaningful policies, beneficial programmes and laudable projects.
“Kaduna state is a stronghold of the People’s Democratic Party and we have the objective of surpassing our previous record of performance by generating at least two million votes for the presidential election. I have no doubt in our ability to meet this expectation in view of the wide acceptability of the party and positive indications that greater victories await our great party the People’s Democratic Party. We have always been a popular pillar of the party and we shall prove our mettle of reliability and success again.
“We have kept faith with our promises to the electorate. In 2011 we sought for their mandate which they graciously and overwhelmingly gave us. We are also of the strong belief that this time around, you will once more rally round us give us your maximum support and ensure a landslide victory for our candidates at all levels in the states as the popular jingle declares: The difference between the People’s Democratic Party and others is clear.”
Vice President Namadi Sambo said that the Jonathan administration has executed such laudable projects in the state as construction of roads, rail, power, agriculture, water resources and other infrastructural facilities which included the the 40mw Gurara power plant, the 215mw thermal Power plant in Gurara, the Kaduna-Abuja Standard Gauge rail project, the Abuja-Bwari express Way linking Kaduna State to the Federal Capital and several others. These projects, he added, have greatly improved socio-economic activities of the state.
He said that Jonathan administration has surpassed the records of previous administrations in areas of socio-economic development, particularly in the area of education where it established twelve new universities across the federation.
The Vice President also took on the opposition on the claim that the administration’s record of the fight against corruption was poor and that the government had failed to provide security as well as disenfranchising the electorate.
According to him, the administration has adopted a paradigm shift in the fight against corruption by emphasizing on prevention rather than the traditional practice of trying to cure the ailment.
“This administration has made the fight against corruption a cardinal policy. We have recorded great success in that regard through the use of multiple modern techniques. Our approach incorporates preventive strategy as a departure from the traditional approach of trying to cure an endemic ailment. In this way, we tackle every form of corruption. Our e-wallet system of fertilizer distribution, for example, has eliminated the endemic corruption in fertilizer distribution to our farmers. In the past, less than 10 percent of the fertilizer distributed to farmers gets to them due to corruption in the distribution chain. But today farmers can get their input direct from the government by simply using their mobile GSMs. This was made possible by developing a computer software using our young and innovative talents drawn from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry.”
The vice-president said that the government has repositioned, strengthened and equipped anti-graft institutions to fight corruption in all its ramifications and had made several arrests and initiated the prosecutions of several cases in the country of recent.
On voting, the vice president said that the government had kept faith with its promise of ensuring that every vote counts, adding: “Our ability to ensure that we keep faith with our promise of ensuring that every vote counts is responsible for the mass distribution of the PVC cards across the federation. This was not possible in the past when results were announced even before the ballot papers reached the electorate. We have never interfered with the operations of the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). By equipping the body with all the necessary requirements for the conduct of free and fair elections, we have enhanced its independence”
On Boko Haram insurgency, vice-president Namadi Sambo described it as a global phenomenon but gave assurance that the nation’s armed forces has the ability to defeat the forces of evil.
“Nigeria, like other nations has found itself battling terrorists insurgency which has affected some parts of the country, especially the North-East. I assure you that very soon we shall triumph over these forces of evil as government is doing everything possible to restore peace and security to the affected communities. We are procuring sophisticated arms and ammunitions to equip our Armed Forces, and boosting their training to counter this new wave of terrorism that is threatening even the most advanced nations of the world.”
Namadi Sambos warned those taken advantage of the sordid situation in the country to desist from incisive and provocative statements, which he said are capable of overheating the polity.
“We have come a long way in our democratic journey and gone further to provide a level-playing field as well as allowing citizens to air their views and opinions in order to enhance the freedom of speech. This is one beautiful aspect of democracy we have promoted. However, some have taken this liberty for license by embarking on provocative criticism that lack substance. Nigeria belongs to all of us and everyone here is a stakeholder in the promotion of law and order and peaceful co-existence.”
Earlier, Governor Ramalan Yero of Kaduna state, who doubles as the party’s leader in the state, has called for issue-based politics and warned against acts of lawlessness which he said would be dealt with decisively. He called on the campaign organization to comb all corners of the state to take the party to victory.
He added said that PDP is a truly national party that has controlled the state for the past fifteen years and has achieved development in all areas. He congratulated President Jonathan for successfully leading the nation in the last five years.
In his welcome address, chairman of the Kaduna State chapter of the Campaign organization, Barr. Hussaini Jalo promised to deliver the state to the party. [myad]
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