declared their support for the re-election bid of the
Peoples Democratic Party's presidential candidate, Dr
Goodluck Jonathan.
Declaring their support, the groups said the future of
the Nigerian youth is better secured in the hands of
the PDP candidate whom they mentioned is vibrant,
younger and result-oriented, while equally being
digital, as opposed to a fatigued and spent force.
They declared the stance at a town hall meeting in
Akure, the state capital, with the PDP youths from the
18 council areas of the state and the non-indigenous
community, ahead the forthcoming elections, where
the state governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, warned
Nigerians not to be deceived by the antics of members
of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who portrayed
their presidential candidate, General Muhammadu
Buhari as a man of integrity and without blemish.
The meeting is the continuation of the series with
interest groups in the state.
In their speeches, leaders of the youth and the non-
indigenous community vowed to support the re-
election bid of President Jonathan, because of the
leadership quality and antecedents of Governor
Mimiko, who they said had impacted positively on the
lives of the people.
The youth, who came in their numbers, said those
clamouring for change were clamouring for ineptitude
and incompetence, adding that youths must not
mortgage their future.
Pledging support for continuity and transformation
agenda of President Jonathan, which the youth
acknowledged as a genuine and progressive drive,
which would not only see Nigeria out of the woods,
but catapult the country to a preferred destination.
One of the youth leaders, Babalola, also known as
Obesere, traced the political history of Nigeria against
the backdrop of General Buhari's regime, describing it
as one of the dark days characterised by draconian
and retrogressive laws, repression of freedom,
ineptitude and incompetence which Nigerians must
not allow again.
He said at 72, the APC presidential candidate was not
only a spent force, but too analogue to drive positive
change.
Ayo Adetoro, Ejo Agagu and Abayomi Adebayo all
pleaded with the youth in the state and the country as
a whole, not to allow for a negative change that could
bring regret, not only now, but also in the future.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Mimiko said the
leadership of APC must stop deceiving Nigerians about
the personality and character of General Buhari, who
they portrayed as an absolutely honest and upright
man, even when he headed the Petroleum Trust Fund
(PTF), where gross embezzlement of fund was
discovered.
He added that the recent revelation concerning the
certificate saga of General Buhari by the military
authority never portrayed him as honest and man of
integrity.
He said the acclaimed integrity had been dismantled
by the antecedents of General Buhari, who he said lied
on oath, which he said was liable to jail term under
law.
According to him, the forthcoming presidential
election should be based on the issue of integrity and
personality and capabilities of the candidates, stressing
that President Jonathan had brought civilization to the
political environment of the country.
He stressed the need for the youth to work asidiously
for the re-election of President Jonathan, describing
him as youth-friendly, stating that under his
administration, the South-West had witnessed
tremendous development.
Coordinator of the PDP national campaign
organization for the South-West, who declared that
PDP in Ondo State had become one, enjoined the
youth to discountenance any rumour to the contrary
from any quarter.
A former commissioner in the state, under the military
regime, Princess Oladunni Odu, said she was
intimidated by the desire of the youth to vote en
masse for President Jonathan without any
inducement, but on account of their rational thinking
and decisions.
No comments:
Post a Comment