The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has enlisted the support of voters in Abia State and the South-East in general for the re-election bid of her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan.
Patience, who was speaking at a reception organised for her by her maternal kinsmen of Ohuhu clan in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, said a vote for Jonathan would guarantee sustainable transformation of the country.
She was also honoured with the chieftaincy title of ‘Nkalari’ at the event, which also doubled as a fund raiser and ground-breaking ceremony of Ohuhu Civic Centre.
Mrs. Jonathan noted that her husband had the interest of Ndigbo and Nigeria at heart, saying that he had demonstrated enough commitment to give the people of the South-East a sense of belonging.
The First Lady identified the upgrading of Enugu and Owerri airports to international status, rehabilitation of Onitsha-Enugu Expressway, Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, the second Niger Bridge, among others, as some of the key projects undertaken by her husband in the region.
She, therefore, solicited the continued support of Ndigbo for her husband in the 2015 elections, saying that the ethnic group as well as people from other parts of Nigeria would be better off if Jonathan was re-elected.
Patience said, “A bird in hand is better than thousands in the bush. Any presidential candidate who wants women to go back to the kitchen should be shunned.”
She also urged the people to “vote massively for all the PDP candidates” in the 2015 elections, arguing that the party had plan for all classes of Nigerians.
Earlier in his remarks, one of the major financiers of the PDP in the state, Chief Arthur Eze, had said Jonathan was God-sent to console Ndigbo after decades of marginalisation and neglect. He urged the people to remain steadfast in their support for him.
He said, “Any Igbo person who abandons Jonathan will not progress.”
He recalled that Jonathan remained the only Nigerian President that had genuinely identified with the cause of Ndigbo.
In his speech, Governor Theodore Orji restated the willingness of the people of the state and Ndigbo in general to vote for Jonathan in 2015, describing him as a true in-law of the state.
“Abia will be the last state to abandon Jonathan,” Orji said, noting that the President had shown enough interest in the state. “Hence, he deserves their unalloyed support,” he said.
It was a Naira rain at the event as the N500m estimate for the entire project came from only two individuals – Arthur Eze and Chief Emma Mbaka of the Platinum Mortgage Bank, with each pledging N250m.Pledges from other donors which were also in millions were only extra.
Some dignitaries at the event were Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha; ex-governors Peter Obi of Anambra; and Sam Egwu of Ebonyi states; and Senator Hope Uzodimma.
Others were the PDP governorship candidate in Rivers, Nyesom Wike; Senator Andy Uba; and Chief Ifeanyi Uba of the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria. Punch
