North remains PDP’s stronghold, says spokesman

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the North remains one of its strongholds where it had enjoyed massive support and majority votes in the last 16 years.

This is contained in a statement issued by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Olisa Metuh, in Abuja.

He said this was as a result of the party’s unprecedented performance in all sectors in the region.

“Our strength lies in the fact that out of the 19 states in the north, the PDP controls 12 with solid structures over the years in all the wards and local government areas.

“The capacity of our winning machine is buoyed by the various tangible development projects that have hugely affected the lives of ordinary Nigerians in the north,’’ he said.

This, he maintained, had put the PDP in vantage position to win back: “ its original states of Sokoto, Kano, Nasarawa and Kwara as well as win in Borno, Yobe and Zamfara states’’.

Metuh said that as the PDP campaign train moves to the north, it would not just ask for votes but was loaded with verifiable achievements.

He said for instance, in education, the once abandoned Almajiri boys could now go to school as President Jonathan initiated and established the Almajiri System of Education.

This, he said, was the first of its kind with over 150 special schools already built across

Northern states while others were near completion.

“Out of the 14 new universities established by President Jonathan, nine are located in the northern states, thereby ensuring that all states of the region have a federal university.

“This is in addition to the establishment of new secondary schools and training of teachers for better quality education in the region,’’ he said.

He said recognising that agriculture was the mainstay of the northern economy, President Jonathan ensured that out of the 2.7 million direct farm jobs achieved by his administration, over 2 million were in the north