The opposition All Progressives Congress has asked President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to stay away from the Niger Delta region ahead of the 2015 general elections.
The APC stated that the President and the PDP had no moral right to campaign for re-election in the Niger Delta due to their alleged neglect of the region.
Rivers State Interim Chairman of the party, Dr. Ikanya Davies, said in a statement on Thursday that the President should avoid campaigning in the oil-rich region since his kinsmen had rejected him for disappointing them.
The statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the state APC chairman, Chukwuemeka Eze, recalled that the former Bayelsa Governor, Timipreye Sylva, had declared that the majority of Bayelsa people were not happy with Jonathan and wanted a change.
According to the statement, “Even though they lack shame, President Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party should for once respect themselves and stay away from the Niger Delta since even his kinsmen in Bayelsa State have rejected him for disappointing them.
“This fact was made clear by the immediate past Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, who during his solidarity visit to Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, declared that most Bayelsa people were frustrated with the Jonathan administration and wanted change even though the President is from the state.
“As Chief Sylva rightly said, Jonathan’s Presidency has brought nothing but shame and opened cracks in the unity of the people of the South-South geo-political zone.
“Jonathan’s occupation of the Aso Presidential Villa has proved to be a curse rather than a blessing to the Niger Delta. The situation is so bad that the Jonathan Presidency has failed to reconstruct the East-West road, which links the South-South with the South-Western parts of the country.
“Certainly, President Jonathan and the PDP have lost every moral right to come and ask the people of the Niger Delta for their votes in 2015 considering the wickedness they have exhibited towards the people of the region.”
Commending Sylva for having the courage to speak the truth despite his blood relationship with President Jonathan, the state APC chair expressed the readiness of the party to work with him and other progressives in Bayelsa to unseat the ruling party.
Reacting, the State PDP Secretary, Walter Ibibia, explained that contrary to the position of the APC, President Jonathan and the PDP had done well for the people of Niger Delta and Nigeria in general.
Ibibia explained that apart from achieving 70 per cent completion of the East-West Road, President Jonathan’s administration had achieved aviation rejuvenation and power stability.
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