Presidential Election: The Most Likely Winner Tomorrow, PDP: Jonathan Unstoppable

Barely 24 hours to Nigeria’s decisive presidential election, there have been several speculations about the likely winner of the election, with pundits narrowing the contest to just four major contenders.

Among the serious presidential candidates are incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Mohammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Nuhu Ribadu of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and Ibrahim Shekarau, the incumbent governor of Kano State and candidate of the All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP.

A survey conducted by P.M.NEWS correspondents across the country ahead of the election indicates that Jonathan is going to be the likely winner. Most of the respondents said Jonathan is clearly favoured to win due to various reasons while a few said there may be a tie between the president and Buhari.

In Enugu state, a cross- section of Nigerians narrowed tomorrow’s presidential election to a straight fight between President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party-PDP and General Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change-CPC.

“Jonathan is clearly favoured from all indicators. His performance since he took over like ensuring fuel supply is steady and no scarcity and ensuring that electricity supply has improved greatly…will count. People are beginning to believe him’’, said Mr. Joseph Chukwuike, Deputy Registrar-Enugu State University of Science and Technology.

“Jonathan will win convincingly tomorrow without any probability of run-off between him and General Buhari as many are predicting. He has performed and should be given another opportunity to complete his good works,” said Emeka Njoku, Enugu based legal; practitioner.

“I give it to Jonathan because he will win in the South East, South -South, South West and 50-50 in the North Central and divide the votes in the North West and North East,” Raphael Ede-Journalist. ‘’Jonathan will win because he has a lot of supporters across the country.

In Owerri, capital of Imos state, the general belief is that Jonathan will have a smooth sail tomorrow, judging by the voting trend in the National Assembly elections in the state. Voting will most certainly follow the same pattern as last Saturday, pundits said. In the election, the PDP got the chunk of the votes, winning in two out of three senatorial zones; and sweeping the ballots in six out of the eight federal constituencies where elections held. To further boost Jonathan’s chances, the leading opposition party in the state, APGA, has also endorsed Jonathan for the presidential race.

The views of a cross-section of residents of Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Thursday, all gave their nod to Jonathan.

Star actor, Saint Obi, who was at the upscale Imo Concorde Hotel, in Owerri, said his home state is in support of Jonathan.

“He personifies the change we are yearning for; and he can deliver because he has the experience” said Obi. The actor argued that the success so far recorded by INEC boss, Prof Attahiru Jega, is to Jonathan’s credit, “because he appointed him in the first place”.

Obi dismissed the ACN candidate, Nuhu Ribadu as being inexperienced. “He lacks the political muscle.”

A student of the Owerri campus of the Imo State University, Ijeoma Nwoke, is voting for Jonathan because “he looks gentle”.

Though she is disappointed in his party, the PDP, for doing little to raise the standard of living of Nigerians, she believes “Jonathan can right the wrongs and deliver on the people’s expectations.”

If the decision of the Edo people is anything to go by, then President Goodluck Jonathan does not need to have sleepless night over the votes that would come from the state. According to on-the-spot reports by our reporter, President Jonathan, has won the heart of the people of the state just because they see him as one of their own, being a Niger Deltan. They have become so sentimental and fanatical about their love for him that they are ready to hurt anyone who they see as anti-Jonathan.

PM NEWS sampled the opinion of the people of the state on their choice for the presidency among the about 18 candidates currently seeking election into the office. It was noticed that they do not even know the names of most of the candidates except President Jonathan, Nuhu Ribadu of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, Muhammadu Buhari.

A respondent and President of African Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), David Ugolor, agreed that the Edo people are in support of President Jonathan. “I am an independent person and an observer in the election but I am very sure that President Jonathan owns the votes of the people of the state.”

The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Jude Imagwe, in a telephone chat with P.M.NEWS said the entire students in the state have declared their support for the President. According to him, Jonathan is the only Ph.D president Nigeria has ever had. “He is also the first to appropriate a better part of the budget for education apart from the fact that he is very much accessible,” the University of Benin student said.

In Rivers State, it was also reported that the general sentiment in this South-South, oil rich state, overwhelmingly favours Jonathan, although Professor Tam David-West, former Minister of Petroleum under General Buhari,an Ijaw, like Jonathan says he will vote for Buhari

“I will vote for Buhari, not Jonathan. I believe that Buhari is honest, incorruptible and disciplined. Jonathan is a candidate thrown up by Obasanjo to do his bidding. They all know that they cannot push Buhari around like they would do to Jonathan. Buhari is one man that is most misunderstood that is why I have written a book cataloguing the Many Sins of Buhari. But none of them can fault that he is incorruptible. Buhari is more experienced than Jonathan. General Muhammadu Buhari is a man revered for his honesty, transparency, integrity and desire for justice for the common man. The idea of a Buhari Presidency is dreaded by some Nigerians who have looted the nation to stupor. These selfish politicians who want to keep Nigerians in poverty often embark on a campaign of calumny by framing up accusations against Buhari in order to prevent Nigerians from voting for a leader who loves the masses and has the mind to change the fortunes of Nigeria for the better. “

But David West, is an odd-man out as many of the people interviewed said they were sticking with Jonathan.

According to Mujahid Asari Dokubo, the ex-militant leader an ACN, chieftain in Rivers State, ‘’Jonathan is the best gift that an Ijaw from the Southern Minority has to offer Nigeria for a selfless service. He is an educated man, has garnered experience in Governance under a democratic dispensation. He was a Deputy Governor, Acting Governor, Governor, Vice President, Acting President and now President. He is educated, honest and detribalised learned Nigerian.The North should remember that we, in the South-South have always supported them loyally. It is time for them to reciprocate because Jonathan is a thorough bred democrat, disciplined and will not disappoint.’’

Buhari will also be the favourite candidate for voters in his home state, Katsina given the overwhelming success of his party in last Saturday’s National Assembly election.

Katsina State, a traditional stronghold of the Peoples Democratic Party, fell to the Congress for Progressive Change at last Saturday’s National Assembly election, but the party’s leadership both at the national and state levels, are in an over drive as they attempt to arrest the dwindling fortunes of the party in the state where President Goodluck Jonathan’s major challenger; Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, hails from.

The Congress for Progressive Change’s presidential candidate’s ambition has been receiving some boost in the state after that election where his party’s candidates emerged winners in all the three senatorial districts and twelve federal seats out of the fourteen that were up for grabs. A recent boost to the retired General’s presidential ambition came in the form of the decamping by some notable members of the Peoples Democratic Party led by Senator Abba Ali, who pledged to work for the Congress for Progressive Change towards the realization of General Buhari’s presidential dreams.

Another boost for the retired General’s ambition came last Thursday at a press briefing convened by former Governor of old Kaduna state and chieftain of the PDP; Alhaji Muhammadu Lawal Kaita, at his country home within the Katsina metropolis, where he directed his teeming supporters to vote for General Buhari at Saturday’s Presidential election.

Kaita who is a staunch supporter of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a pro zoning vocalist in the PDP, revealed that the elites of the state have resolved to support General Buhari in protest of the refusal of the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party to enforce the zoning principle, which dictates that the Northern part of the country will produce the President to complete the tenure of late President Umar Yar’Adua.

Alhaji Kaita said, “The CPC will win Saturday’s Presidential election in this state (Katsina). Even though I am in the PDP, the people of this state are disposed to voting for their son Buhari and there is nothing anybody can do about that. I support the wish of my people to vote for CPC in the Presidential election while the PDP gets the peoples vote at the Governorship election”

Apparently, embattled Governor Ibrahim Shema seems to have tacitly endorsed this arrangement of having the electorate in the state to vote for CPC at the Presidential election and thereafter vote for the PDP during the governorship election in furtherance to his re election bid.

In Oyo state, our corresponent reported that indications are very strong that the people of Oyo State would vote for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the presidential election. That would create an upset of sort, as the South West, offers the biggest base for the ACN candidate, Nuhu Ribadu.

Most of the people who spoke with PM NEWS in Ibadan said that voting for President Jonathan does not reflect that they are voting for PDP, stressing that gone were the days when people voted for party. According to them, the candidate of the party determines which party will win at the poll stressing that voters vote for whom they feel can deliver irrespective of the party.

Among those that spoke with PM NEWS on the presidential election are: Ibadan High Chief, Senator Lekan Balogun, Dr. Stephen Lafenwa of the Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ibadan (UI) and an astute politician, Dr. Olapade Agoro, national chairman of the National Action Council (NAC).

Balogun opined that the direction most Nigerians are going is toward President Jonathan, stressing that he is the best and most qualified candidate among the presidential candidates.

Agoro in his own view said there is no way Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), General Muhammed Buhari of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and Ribadu of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) will defeat Jonathan at the poll. “There could be surprises here and there, but Jonathan will win the poll but there can be some violence or other things that would discredit the election but Jonathan will win”.

Generally, the dismal performance of CPC in the just concluded National Assembly election is an indication that the party’s presidential candidate needs a miracle to win the election though it is not entirely ruled out that he is going to make a reasonable impact. Though Shekarau and Ribadu are working in their own corners, all things being equal President Jonathan has greater chances to win Saturday’s election in Kano State, said Madu Nmeribeh, who reported from Kano.

There seems to be a consensus among opinion leaders in Kwara State that president Goodluck Jonathan would carry the day, reportede Stephen Oni from Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

Our correspondent in Kogi State, Bayo Adetu, quotes Dr. Tom Ohikere, Commissioner for Information, as saying that “PDP will maintain its usual feat, but it is not going to be easy because we now have stiffer opposition. At the end of the day, I expect President Jonathan to consolidate on the good jobs he has already started. He is a man of his words and I believe he will deliver.”

According to Olusola Akanmode, former Chief of Staff to Atiku Abubakar, “Goodluck Jonathan is the best man for the job because he has shown real understanding and responsiveness to our problems, particularly in the area of infrastructure. Majority of Kogi people see him as a symbol of equity and unity. He has made it clear that he wants to win in a peaceful, free and manner. Besides, his performance within the last one year has proved that he is the right man.”

In Benue state, Senator Ahmadu Ali, former PDP National Chairman, also said: “If you carefully X-ray those vying for the office of the president in the different political parties, you will discover that there is only one candidate who has international appeal. He is the only one acceptable to both Muslims and Christians. You will also have noticed that only one candidate appeals to both the old and young, the rich and the poor. And this candidate is not desperate for power. He is Goodluck Jonathan.”

Emma Una reported from Calabar that there is overwhelming indication that Jonathan will carry the day.

Lanre Babalola in Abeokuta, Ogun State said reactions have been mixed about who will win tomorrow’s election. While some supporters of ACN said they will continue to vote for the party, supporters of PDP and the PPN also threw their weights behind President Jonathan. Only a few offered to cast their votes for Buhari.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, says no machination of any political party can stop President Goodluck Jonathan from winning tomorrow’s presidential poll.

The PCC said the various political parties had begun to be afraid of Jonathan, an act that informed the reason why they were scampering to form alliance, thinking that would give them an edge over the president.

A statement signed by Mallam Abba Dabo, Director of Publicity, PCC, said “the result of the National Assembly election so far released by INEC, has thrown the opposition political parties in a state of considerable disarray.

“We note that some of the parties have been scurrying around trying to form unholy alliances and coalitions against the PDP.

“We believe that this last minute machination to gang up against our party as a result of their failure at the polls will only lead to further failures on their part,” Dabo stated.

The PCC called on all its supporters and all men and women of goodwill to march with confidence on Saturday to elect the winning party, the PDP and its presidential candidate, Jonathan.

“We urge Nigerians to continue to put their faith in the PDP because it is the only political party that has the acceptability and standing to provide an all inclusive leadership capable of heralding the country into greatness at home and abroad.

“We also call on Nigerians to ignore all forms of distractions and spurious allegations emanating from these opposition parties by voting our leader, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as president, for the transformation of our country,” the statement said.

It stated that Jonathan had shown, through his words and actions and the testimonies from home and abroad, that he is the man “with the perception, vision and plan to transform Nigeria and take us to the Promised Land. Let’s keep faith with President Goodluck Jonathan; he will never let us down.”

—Reported by Lanre Babalola, Madu Nmeribeh, Bayo Adetu, Jude Orji, Okafor Ofiebor, Tokunbo Olajide, Gbenro Adesina, Nnamdi Felix, Emma Una Stephen Oni, Eromosele Ebhomele, Ben Adaji.