TheCable

President Goodluck Jonathan has described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the only truly democratic party in the country.

Speaking during his re-election campaign in Jos, Plateau state, Jonathan told the party supporters who came out in their numbers that the ruling party is a place “where everyone is the same and with equal stake”.

“PDP is the only party that has no owner; it is a democratic group with no landlord and tenant,” he said.

Appealing to members of the ruling party in the state that internal wrangling should be resolved, he urged them to resist the temptation to defect to other political parties over the slightest disagreement.

Jonathan said disagreements arising from primary elections were normal, adding that political parties usually got stronger after internal crises were resolved.

The president commended Joshua Dariye, a former governor of the state and a serving senator, for returning to the PDP.

Dariye got elected to the senate on the platform of the Labour Party.

Jonathan advised politicians to take advantage of the freedom offered by the growing democratic culture, to embrace dialogue and mutual trust.

He challenged the people of the state to work towards returning Plateau to its former status as the most peaceful in country, and also urged them to emulate the likes of late Solomon Lar and Yakubu Gowon.

He promised to make Nigeria better if given another chance, saying more sectors would enjoy massive intervention as was currently witnessed in the rail, agriculture and power sectors.

“We must collectively fight our problems the way we fought and defeated the Ebola virus that would have been a calamity if it had become pandemic,” he said.