Governors on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday expressed apprehension over the efficacy of the smart card readers for the coming elections.

The governors who held an interactive session with the media and civil society organisations (CSOs) in Lagos, said the gadget might cause confusion during the elections.

They therefore kicked against  the efficacy of the gadget during the polls.
The theme of the event which was ‘sustenance of democratic values and national development,’ was organised to sensitise Nigerians on the right conduct expected from the citizenry to deepen the current democracy and prevent it from being truncated.

The Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, in his keynote address, stressed the need to vote for the PDP in the coming elections, stating that, “it is by so doing that democracy would be deepened and the hope of common man in Nigeria would be adequately secured.”

According to him, continuity in the good work of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration was the key to continued greatness of Nigeria, asserting that “this democracy that was obtained for us through the blood and sweat of our compatriots and true democrats should be jealously guarded and prevented from collapse.”
He therefore called for eternal vigilance, which he described as price for liberty, in striving to sustain democratic value and ensure continous development.

Akpabio lamented that, if not for military interventions, Nigeria would have been better of today than Boswana that obtained its independence in 1966, six clear years after Nigeria had secured hers.

While explaining the reasons why Nigerians should for vote the PDP, he said it was the party owned by the people and not by an individual or built around a cult personality, adding that, “it is not a party where 50 years old tricks would be applied to solve modern issues and thereby disrupt our democratic value.

At this juncture, Akpabio declared: “We see nothing wrong with General Muhammadu Buhari. But we are extremely concerned about the age of his ideas. If at 40, he could not fully be in charge, how can he now at 73 when his health needs close monitoring?
“To move forward as a nation and not to engage the reverse gear, Nigerians should vote for Jonathan to take the country across the River Jordan because of his transformation leadership.”

He therefore took time to enumerate Jonathan’s achievements which he said included but not limited to freedom of information, massive physical and social infrastructure development, convocation of National Conference, massive employment, establishment of 14 brand new universities and winning the war against the insurgents.
This, according to him, is the transformation the country needs and not ‘change’ without plans saying, “any change without plans will lead to disaster.”

The South-west Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko said undeniable emperical evidence available has shown that nobody was close to Jonathan in terms of performance in the recent time.
Mimiko, who mentioned freedom of the judiciary, independence of  the legislature and press freedom as part of Jonathan’s achievements, said he needs more years to entrench some of these values.

Governor Fayose of Ekiti State in his speech said he had nothing personal about Buhari, saying he was just being natural in his concern for the advanced age of the APC candidate, pointing out that, “Nigerians stand to benefit more from Jonathan’s re-election on March 28.”
Fayose insisted that Buhari is not qualified or fit to lead Nigeria, urging him to present himself to the public to scrutinise.

“Today we have values that are driven by drivers and we have vehicles. President Jonathan is the driver of the PDP and Buhari is the driver of the APC. Such individuals representing the face of democracy for their parties must be scrutinised by the public,” he said.
On the numerous accusations against Buhari bordering on his certificate and health, the governor said: “I have made boldly severally to say that Buhari is not fit to be president of Nigeria and I stand by my words.

“My mother is 74 years and Buhari’s official age is 73. I want the media to reconcile this. Also, I have declared my certificate publicly. The press must not cover this up but insist that Buhari does the same thing.”

On the allegation that Buhari travelled to London for medical check-up via an air ambulance, Fayose asked: “Did you see a photo taken of Buhari three weeks ago leaving the country? Things happened in the United Kingdom. There must be integrity.

“This is not about a personal attack against Buhari. We must ensure that the public is not misinformed. I gave the address where Buhari was treated and I stand by it. Buhari is my father; anyone the age of your mother is your father. I must again remind that Buhari is too old. Sicknesses come with age.

“If this is a change the APC is talking about, it is a waste of time. In his entire tour of Nigeria, he spoke for 57 minutes. Buhari will end up as a shield for some people to corner the Nigerian economy.”
Speaking earlier, the Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, said it was about time that Nigerians woke up to the reality of happenings in the country and strive to forge a united front.

“This country is going through tribulations. Let’s move away from the culture of hate. There are issues tearing the nation apart, issues like our unity. There is danger. The APC is not an alternative.
“In APC, if you remove one or two of their leaders, the party will perish. But the PDP belongs to us. The APC is a collection of liars and propagandists,” he said.

Other governors that spoke included Jonah Jang, Aliyu Babangida, Liyel Imoke, Sule Lamido and Ngilari of Plateau, Niger, Cross River, Jigawa and Adamawa respectively.

Also in attendance were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, Ministers for Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwumi Adesina and his Power Ministry, Chinedu Nebo.

However, the APC presidential campaign organisation, has expressed concern over an alleged statement made yesterday by the Governor of Jigawa State, Lamido, that all the PDP  needed to do to break the back of APC leaders is just to kidnap two of its leaders.
Addressing a press conference yesterday at the APC presidential campaign headquarters, the campaign council’s Director of Media and Communications, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the governor’s statement was in bad taste.

“I think that it is terribly, in a bad taste that the governor will stand in the front of the television cameras and announced that to break the APC, all they needed to do is to kidnap two APC leaders and then the party would be broke,” he said.
He said even if the governor used the statement as a joke, making such an utterance at this period of heightened insecurity is unwarranted.

“As we were preparing for this press conference, some of the PDP governors are meeting in Lagos and some of the languages that are coming from that place are not particularly pleasant. I want to consider what  mostly at a Lamido, said. I feel it is some kind of morbid joke and I hope that it didn’t come from his heart otherwise the time when kidnapping was a very serious plaque nationwide.

“It  is like people are not aware that Nigerians have sensibilities and sensitivities that need to be respected otherwise people shouldn’t just ruffle the emotions of the people of this country. For us in the APC presidential campaign, kidnapping is a serious threat to this country and it is not a matter that people should be joking with,” he said.

Speaking on the issue of corruption, the spokesman said Buhari had eloquently stated his stand during his  speech at the Chatham House that his government will not be one that will condone waste and that no corrupt person will be on his government.