The Presidency has described the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan at the 2015 presidential polls as a brief holdup for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, made the statement during an interview in Abuja on Monday.
According to Alkali, Jonathan’s defeat by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), brought to an abrupt end to the 16-year rule of PDP in the country.
However, he urged PDP supporters not despair but keep faith with the party. He added that the defeat would serve as an opportunity for the party to re-strategise and plan ahead. He said the defeat does not translate into the political end of the party. It is only a temporary setback, he explained.
“I wish to appreciate and thank all the groups and individuals that have contributed one way or the other to support President Jonathan during the election,” Alkali said. “We should all see the outcome of the presidential election as a temporary setback not a full-stop in a long sentence of the political history of this great country Nigeria.”
He noted that it is conceivable that as a result of the unprecedented setback, members and supporters of the party may lose focus, hope and direction and even be tempted to engage in divisive activities, but nonetheless, he urged that they should be more united than ever before as the task now is to join hands together to strengthen PDP.
He appealed to all the supporters of the out-going president, especially those who played active roles in his re-election bid to remain calm and resolute as the country prepares for the May 29th handover to the incoming administration.
Alkali described the manner Jonathan conceded defeat swiftly, after the results were announced as a sterling example of maturity.
“Our President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has displayed and establish an exceptional legacy that will remain permanent not only in Nigeria but in the whole of Africa,” Alkali said. “The President’s actions to call and congratulate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari before the final results were announced shows that Dr. Jonathan is a man of his words and is leaving an indelible mark in the sands of time.”
He pointed out that the president’s demeanor even after the loss has shamed all doomsday prophets who were expecting chaos and the disintegration of the country.
