Barely two weeks to the March 28 presidential election, the Akwa Ibom Governor, Godswill Akpabio, has boasted that the state will deliver 1.5 million votes to President Goodluck Jonathan.
Mr. Akpabio, who said this during the Women for Change Development Initiative’s rally in Uyo, the state capital, also assured Mr. Jonathan of victory at the polls.
The Women for Change Development Initiative is a non-government organisation spearheaded by the wife of the president, Patience Jonathan.
“There is no need for campaign in Akwa Ibom State. We are only here to rejoice because our women and the entire people of the state are for PDP. I assure you that we will not give President Jonathan less than1.5 million votes in the upcoming elections,” Mr. Akpabio told the cheering crowd.
Talking directly to Mrs. Jonathan, the governor said, “Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria love you. So, there is no vacancy in Aso Rock. Already, all the PDP states have been delivered and we believe more states would be delivered for PDP. So, on March 28, this country will move forward for PDP.”
Mr. Akpabio also boasted that there is no corruption in the ruling party.
He noted that women are blessings to families, and called on them to vote for Mr. Jonathan and PDP candidates in all the elections.
Mr. Akpabio thanked the president’s wife for taking time out to sensitise Nigerian women and assured her of the support of not only Akwa Ibom women but the entire state.
Addressing the rally, Mrs. Jonathan expressed appreciation to the state governor for making the PDP proud through his “uncommon transformation” programmes and projects and for giving women the opportunity to serve in the government.
She also commended Mr. Akpabio’s wife, Unoma for supporting the governor in the administration of the state.
Mrs. Jonathan, however, called on women in Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria to vote for her husband and PDP candidates in the forthcoming general elections.
She gave assurance that if voted back to power, the administration will empower more Nigerians and also ensure that 45 per cent of appointments at the federal level is reserved for women.
Also speaking, the wife of the Vice President, Amina Sambo, called on the women of the state to support President Jonathan and PDP in the forthcoming elections.
She also disclosed that the present administration had built robust infrastructure in many parts of the country including the East-West Road, as well as building of skill acquisition centres, building of a new intensive and maternity ward at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, renovation of Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway, among others.
on her part, the wife of the Senate President, Helen Mark, thanked Governor Akpabio for making women proud, for supporting President Jonathan and PDP, and called on women to support the ruling party.
Other speakers at the rally included Mrs. Akpabio, state Deputy Governor, Valerie Ebe, Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Akon Eyakenyi, PDP National Women Leader, Kema Chikwe and state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Martha Emmanuel.
