• Buhari pledges to revive Mambilla hydro power project 

• PDP faults INEC over ex-military leader’s  certificate

• APC accuses President of backing ethnic   warlords

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has said that the accusation that he has  not favoured South-South geopolitical at the detriment of the rest of the country, was  a proof of his transparency in running the affairs of the country. 

In the same vein, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Maj- Gen Muhammadu Buhari yesterday pledged to revive the abandoned Mambilla Hydro Dam power project located in Sardauna Local Government Area  of Taraba State, if  elected president.

Citing alleged complicity, the PDP yesterday threatened to pass a vote of no confidence on the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) on the unresolved issued surrounding Buhari’s  academic qualification. 

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) has slammed President Jonathan for allegedly aligning himself with ethnic warlords who have been threatening to tear the country apart in case he (Jonathan) fails at the February 14 polls.

Addressing a  mammoth crowd at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium,Port Harcourt, President Jonathan who commenced his speech by saying “no shaking”, said Governor  Rotimi Amaechi recently in Yenagoa and Port Harcourt, accused him of not developing the South-South geopolitical. 

The President who did not dispute the claim , however, pointed out that people in other parts of the country have been  accusing him of concentrating development in the region. 

According to him, this a pointer that he has been transparent by not being a sectional leader.

“One thing that I need to use this platform not for the purpose of Rivers people, but for the rest of the country is that the director general of the All Progressive Congress Campaign Organization, Amaechi when he was in Yenagoa and Port Harcourt mentioned clearly that the President has done nothing for these two states, don’t worry , it is a good news because people have been saying that  I concentrated development in the South-South.  Bayelsa State was a part of Rivers State”

He continued:“And if I must concentrate development in the South South, that means it must be loaded in Bayelsa and Rivers State. but if Amaechi is telling Nigerians that I have not done that, then you should know that I am a transparent person.  I did not allocate positions to my people. 

To ensure equity, President Jonathan explained that his administration has ensured that no part of the country is left behind in terms of development. 

This resolve was what, according to him, informed  the citing of new federal universities in States that never  had one in order to boost young Nigerians access to university education.

“I am not going to comment on development in Rivers State and Bayelsa State because this is a part of my area. I can assure you , just work with us. Vote for on  February 14 , myself and Sambo. Vote for us on the 28 of Feburary, for Wike and Ipalibo Banigo. And definitely, we must leave indelible prints in Rivers State. Luckily, we have been challenged that we have not done anything, we must do something” he added.

Buhari, who said this during his campaign in the state, expressed regrets that in spite of the abundant natural resources in the state and the country at large, people of the state were still wallowing in abject poverty.

 Maintaining that the Mambilla hydro power project, if completed would not only lead to the employment of the teeming youths of the state, but also enhance its  revenue base , the former head of state said insecurity in the region and the country at large was  as a result of unemployment. 

Buhari added that an APC government would work tirelessly round the clock to create employment opportunities, which would go a long way to discourage insurgent activities.

Flanked by top members of the party, which include former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, the party national Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, first female governorship candidate from the Northern Nigeria, Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan among others, the ex-military leader enjoined the electorate to  vote en-masse to vote for APC at all levels.

The APCPCO said in a statement in Abuja that this unholy alliance by the President with elements that served notice of their diabolical intention to foment trouble is in negation to the oath of allegiance sworn to over five years ago by the President, to maintain the territorial integrity and indivisible Nigeria.

The statement signed by the Director of Media and Publicity of the APCPCO, Mallam Garba Shehu, condemned the President’s attitude of “condoling treasonable statements and gross indiscipline by some elements of his kinsmen – as a breach of presidential oath to protect all Nigerians and a sheer display of double standard and selective justice.”

“How can the President feign ignorance of the war plots and call to arms in Bayelsa State Government House in Yenagoa, supervised by a PDP Governor, Seriake Dickson, and the Presidential Special Adviser on Amnesty Programme, Kingsley Kuku, with majority of Niger Delta ex-militant kinsmen,” Shehu said.

“Whereas this President was quick to condemn MEND for allegedly supporting Buhari, and lambast claims by the hoax Federal Government-hired Australian negotiator with the Boko Haram, Dr Stephen Davis; publicly bad-mouthed his critics particularly former Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo; yet he has refused to call to order tribal war-mongers like Kuku and his cohorts – Asari Dokubo, Tompolo, Boy Loaf and others. This is a total and unequivocal support of the President for aiding and abetting treason in the land, an impeachable offence by all standards.”