Pro-President Goodluck Jonathan group, Goodluck Good Governance Group (G4), has called on all Nigerians to support the president’s transformation agenda by voting massively for him in the forth coming presidential election.

The group pointed out the achievements of the President Jonathan administration namely, respect for the rule of law; strong support for due process; improvement of road networks more than any of his predecessors; revitalisation of the railway system; restoration of the agricultural products system and improving of the education sector; and therefore urged Nigerians to rally round the president for the second term.

The convener of the G4, Mr. Femi Ajayi, who passionately pleaded with Nigerians when he met Igbo traders at a presidential rally in Lagos this week, said: “The president has done very well in his first term, that’s why we are saying one good turn deserves another.

“He has done well in revitalising the railway system in the country, improving the road network in the country more than any other administration before him,  transformed the agricultural production system by increasing the tonnage of rice produced locally thus reducing the import.

“President Jonathan has improved the educational system of the country that within the space of two years, he added 12 more federal universities in order to increase access to tertiary education to empower young Nigerians.

“The health sector has not been left out. The midwives’ scheme has increased access for pregnant women to maternal care which has experienced an upsurge. It is noble, something all Nigerians should be proud of.”

Ajayi further told journalists at the rally that Jonathan “has done so well in improving good governance. Before now, respect for court injunction, rule of law, Freedom of Information (FoI), freedom of expression were all things that happened in other places but now, they can’t be taken for granted here in Nigeria.

“So for his good governance, for his sustainable development, the president deserves to be given another term.”

Asked why the average Igbo trader would be expected to vote for President Jonathan, Ajayi expressed optimism by saying: “They (traders) are a critical segment of this economy because of what they contribute to it. They should vote for the president because he, more than any leader in Nigeria, has tried to mainstream the private sector in Nigerian developmental process. You would agree with me the Igbos are known for their enterprise.

“If the private sector is empowered, if it becomes the driver of the economy, it would benefit people who have the drive and entrepreneurial skills, and that is precisely why there should be a partnership between Jonathan government and the Igbo people because he us promoting enterprise and they are an enterprising group.”

He further reiterated the issue of the power sector, stressing that for trade, manufacturing and commerce to thrive sufficiently, sustainable and regular power supply must be available.

“So if the president gets the power sector right like he is likely to because of the reforms he has put in place, it would benefit the Igbo people because of their entrepreneurial and enterprising initiatives,” he asserted.

In his remark, the spokesperson of the Coalition of Traders and Markets Association in Lagos, Mr. Nnamdi Nwigwe, who said traders need to be actively involved in this present democratic system as they control the macro economy of the nation, said: “As people who are working in the informal sector, we would lift it up to the formal sector such that the government can balance properly and make a friendly budget with the people and watch the economy grow. For the fact that they have not been involving us in the governance process in the past is part of the reasons why there are flaws in the economic system.”

Nwigwe decried what he described as injustice and excessiveness of the Lagos State Government especially in double taxation, Local Government closure of shops without due notice, lack of infrastructure and amenities in market places with the influx of modern shopping malls like Shoprite “knowing that that would adversely affect our patronage and the unlawful deportation of the Igbo people to their state while living in a sovereign state called Nigeria.”

He, however, urged the government to upgrade the markets and provide insurance policies against fire outbreak incidence.

Meanwhile, the G4 convener who is also the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), while highlighting Jonathan’s
achievement, said: “Aside from these intangible but crucial benefits of democracy, Jonathan has made giant strides in sustaining development as visible in regular and stable fuel supply, power sector reforms, transport sector transformation (road construction and railway rehabilitation) and agriculture revolution.

“Power has been moved from public to private sectors, the government needs to improve the quantity of power even as power supply has increase. Many of Nigerians have testified that power supply has increase and power has improved.”