Those defecting from PDP to APC will return hungry – Pres. Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has said that those who are defecting to the All Progressives Congress because the ruling Peoples Democratic Party lost the March 28 presidential election will soon return hungry.

 Jonathan spoke on Thursday when he received the report of the recently concluded general elections from the Director General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation and former National Chairman of the party, retired Colonel Ahmadu Ali. According to the President, the APC would take care of its core members first before “food” can get to defectors from PDP. He said:



“Those people running and those already cross-carpeting, they will come back on an empty stomach because they will touch the primary members of their party before they get to you. “They know you are coming because you are hungry. “Before it will get to you, the food will be gone.” Jonathan, therefore, encouraged “members of our party to remain loyal to the party, not to be so disillusioned ‎because we lost presidential election and decide to go where they think they will fill their stomachs or something. “It’s not easy I have been here for five years plus.

“You hardly satisfy even 15 percent of those who work for you. “So, let us be committed to the party. “Yes, we will have challenges at the beginning, but surely we will get to where we want to be.” President Jonathan also posited that the PDP remains the dominant party in the country, calling on its members to remain steadfast and united to make sure the party bounces back in future elections. He also urged them not to lose hope, saying what happened to the party happens almost every election year in Ghana, USA and other countries. He spoke further:

 “So I know that the issues of the 2015 general elections maybe after few years when political scientists will write, we will get different perspectives. “If you ask the various observer groups, each will give you a different perspective. “Even among ourselves whenever we talk, ‎sometimes I laugh when people draw some of their analysis but by my privileged position, I know a little more about the elections than others. “But the key thing isn’t whether we lost or won, but that Nigeria as a nation must move forward. “Political parties can only thrive when there is peace and stability in the country.

“If there is military intervention, all the parties will disappear. “And for PDP, whatever happened now is like a slip. “‎You don’t need to go to America to know how power goes from the Democrat to the Republican. “It has almost stabilised. “It’s like once you serve eight years, you are ready to hand over to either the Republican or the Democrat. “So theirs is almost an established setting. “But for Ghana very close to us, the present party lost some eight years back and of course they came back and won the elections.

 “So the problem is not whether we lost the elections, but ‎how do we consolidate our party and move forward. “If we are committed and we work hard, definitely PDP will bounce back. “PDP is still the dominant party. “If you look at the result, the difference is just 2.5 million votes ‎and if you look at the areas where it is perceived that PDP scored so low, PDP couldn’t have gotten those kinds of scores, but the elections are over, the country first.” On the historic congratulatory phone call he made to the winner, General Muhammadu Buhari, Jonathan said he consulted nobody.

He said: “It is not as if Jonathan alone made the sacrifice. “It’s all of us. “I made the pronouncement but some of us are paying the prize. “Some people pay more prize than I do. “I know how some of you are already being persecuted and the kind of situation facing you. “The key thing is that we must continue to unite. “As a party, we must continue to work hard so that as we go into subsequent elections 2019, 2023 and so on and so forth, PDP will continue to come up strong. “Even in the interest of the nation, we need PDP.

 “I still believe though we have lost the presidential election, some National Assembly elections, governorship elections, especially in the North, PDP is still the dominant party. “Let us not judge PDP by the result of the elections for the presidential election. “Our duty is to go back and identify areas of challenges ‎so that the party will come up strong and play the role as a very strong party. “PDP is still the most organized party, is still the party that is not owned by anybody, is still the party that whatever you are you can get to any level with your competences and so on.

“So, I have to sincerely thank all you who worked tirelessly for the elections. “You worked very hard. “You did your best despite that we didn’t win the election but the key thing is that Nigeria is peaceful. “The countries that brought ships, everything around us waiting to evacuate their citizens are happy because there was nobody to evacuate. “The country was so tensed but everything has gone down and I think that is the most important thing because the conviction is that you must have a country before you can run for an office.

“Nigeria is a very complex country and you must manage with care. “Yes I did not consult anybody before I made that phone call, but I made that phone call on behalf of all you and on behalf of the PDP. “So, let me thank you all of joining us to carry the cross. “Thank you for the various roles you played and I charge you to‎ be even more committed to the development of the party.

“Definitely PDP will become stronger and united.” Presenting the report earlier, Ahmadu Ali said:

“You made the world proud by conceding defeat even when you had several options. “You proved to the world that you are committed to your credo that no one’s blood is worth your political ambition. “By that singular act, you pulled Nigeria back from a seeming pre-determined precipice and you made us proud. “While you assuredly lost in the ballots, you won the biggest victory in defeat by that historic phone call.”

Culled from: The Eagle Online