President Goodluck Jonathan, took a swipe at the All Progressives Congress, APC, saying elections are not won on the altar of propaganda.
Speaking during the presidential dinner and public lecture organised in his honour by the University of Port Harcourt, UNIPORT, Alumni Association in Abuja, Jonathan said if not for the level playing ground he brought into the political system the opposition would not be heard today.
The President said the opposition movement owe their existence and activities to him, because it was his desire and wish that political parties should have the strength to assert themselves the confidence and seek for space, and saying that the determination and assurance was that if they do well, they will achieve their goal.
He was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, who noted that people currently speak carelessly as a result of the freedom which came with the deepening of democracy following his liberality he gave to all political actors.
He said: “And that is why today, at times, people wonder or bother about the opposition activities and movements. We created it. We simply thought that except the political space is expanded, we are not heading for democracy.
“That except you allow people to strongly and firmly assert their democratic rights, participate in democratic process and indeed, enjoy it with confidence, that one day, we will pay for it.
“I want to assure us tonight that the opposition movement as it were today, owe their existence and indeed, their activities to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
“When the opposition try to make so much noise, one thing we know is that you cannot win election in Nigeria through propaganda.”
Sen. Anyim recalled his sojourn in the present democratic dispensation, saying he had encountered three presidents namely; former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and President Jonathan, stating that Jonathan is a rare breed.
He particularly said his tenure as Senate President during the Obasanjo’s administration, was characterised by a struggle to guarantee the independence of the legislature.
In the Yar’Adua’s administration, Anyim also recalled how he contested for the office of the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but having traversed the length and breadth of the country, was asked to accept what the party termed as ‘consensus candidate.’
He however said under the Jonathan administration where he has been privileged to serve as the SGF, he has been playing a role in the democratisation of the nation’s polity. He added that the dividends of democracy were not certainly some of the things people focus on, saying that the dividends of democracy were in two parts, fundamentals to democracy and the incidentals to democracy.
Anyim added that if there is anything he had admired much under the present administration; it is the fact of the ability of the president to guarantee the basic fundamentals to democracy.
In his remarks, National President, UNIPORT Alumni Association, Engr. Samson Ngerebara, said the gathering transcended walking down memory lane, saying it was a special presidential dinner in honour of one of its own and its grand patron.
Ngerebara also said the event was to celebrate the achievements and honour the legacy of President Jonathan. Chronicling the achievements of the Jonathan’s administration in the areas of education, agriculture, transportation, aviation and other sectors, Ngerebara said Nigerians cannot afford to change the leadership of President Jonathan.
“We therefore join the majority of Nigerians to support and also solicit support for you in the upcoming elections,” Ngerebara added.
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