4.15m in South South endorse call on Jonathan to vie for second term – Wike

The Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, said 4.15 million persons from the South-South had endorsed the call on President Goodluck Jonathan to vie for a second term in office.

This they did by appending their signatures on the list for the purpose.

Wike stated this at rally organised by the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Saturday.

He said the call on the President to go for a second term was in tandem with his reforms in the nation’s education sector.

Wike commended Jonathan for putting almajiris on the track of responsible living, which he said was unprecedented.

He said the people of the South-South would remain forever grateful to Jonathan for inaugurating the Oil and Gas Polytechnic in Bonny, Rivers State.

Dr. Ngozi Iweala, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, said Jonathan’s second term was important because of his economic reforms and other achievements.

Iweala said Nigeria’s economy, since the inception of Jonathan’s administration, was progressing rapidly and yielding fruitful results.

Former Governor Peter Odili of Rivers State urged Jonathan to continue in his purposeful leadership of Nigeria by declaring for the 2015 presidential election.

Odili lauded Jonathan’s transformation agenda in many areas, saying that it had impacted positively on Nigerians in general and the South South in particular.

Senator James Manager, the Chairman of the South South Senators’ Forum, described the call on Jonathan to continue as a clarion call, adding that it was anchored on fair play.

Manager urged other Nigerians to support the call for Jonathan to continue, which he said was necessary for national development and completion of projects.

Responding, President Jonathan noted that the people of the South South had not only given him a mandate for a second term, but demonstrated total support for their son.

The President, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, commended the people of the South South for “breaking record” with the call.

He said their support was unprecedented and an expression of love and needful base for him.

Earlier, the people of the South South, as represented by their various leaders, endorsed the call on Jonathan to stand for the presidential election in 2015.