President Goodluck Jonathan said Thursday that elections would hold everywhere in the country come 2015 despite the raging with terrorists in some parts of the country, especially the northeastern states of the country.
The said his administration was putting all security measures in place to enable the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct violent-free elections across the country.
He spoke in his acceptance speech during the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
About 3,000 delegates from the 36 states of the federation converged on Abuja to ratify Jonathan’s candidacy as the party’s presidential flag-bearer.
He said, “It is encouraging that the security situation is improving, and by the grace of God, elections will be conducted in all states of the federation.
“I call on all Nigerians, irrespective of party or belief, to join me in this fight against insurgency and terror. We must be united. Bickering and quarrels only serve to send the wrong signals to terrorists and insurgents that we are divided in this fight.
“More importantly, it can also demoralise our dedicated and brave armed forces. This would be wrong. For this reason, we must remain united.”
Jonathan said however that to achieve this, all hands must be on deck to forestall the nefarious agenda of the blood suckers.
He called on Nigerians to be vigilant and avoid unruly behaviour.
“The experience in many countries shows that there may be a tendency for the escalation of violence in an election year. We must not succumb to blackmail. We must be vigilant – every one of us. Only by united action, can we defeat terrorism,” the president said.
While accepting his nomination as standard-bearer of the PDP for the presidential election, Jonathan assured Nigerians that he continue offer Nigerians better deal through his Transformation Agenda.
He said, “I will work to secure Nigeria’s future. I will serve with humility and moderation, with simplicity and forthrightness; with openness and inclusiveness; and with firmness and strength. I urge all Nigerians to support me, to finish what we started together.”
“It is imperative to secure the future of Nigerians by building the nation, rather than destroy it.
“The choice before Nigerians in the coming election is simple: A choice between going forward or going backwards; between the new ways and the old ways; between freedom and repression; between a record of visible achievements and beneficial reforms – and desperate power-seekers with empty promises.
“Our systematic efforts have been acknowledged and we will do more in the coming years. Corruption degrades development; we will continue this fight, without compromise.”
He added that his administration and the PDP in 16 states had recorded successes in the agriculture, security and judiciary, telecommunications, the economy and infrastructure development.
The president further promised to tackle corruption headlong and the grievances of members of the party in the just concluded party primaries.
He called on members of the PDP to take the campaign of the party to every Nigerian, every home and every community, adding: “We will campaign in peace; we will campaign with hope in our hearts; we will campaign on the facts and the truth; we will campaign with issues and ideas; we will campaign on our record of performance; we will campaign to win.”
