PEOPLES Democratic Party, PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, PDPPCO yesterday congratulated the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC and winner of last Saturday’s Presidential election, General Muhammadu Buhari, retd, just as it said that as a party, it fought a good fight, but lost.
Addressing Journalists in Abuja Wednesday, Director, Media and Publicity of PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani- Kayode who urged party members and supporters to stand firm and support the democratic process as well as cooperate with the incoming government, stressed that as Nigerians, the project Nigeria as a country must first be a priority to all before anything else.
Fani- Kayode who said that he had no regrets over his actions, utterances during the campaigns as he was simply carrying out his assignment, stressed that there was nothing personal as he simply did his job, adding, “let me commend all our colleagues on the other side for also standing up for what they believed in.There was absolutely nothing personal as regards this Directorate or myself. I had nothing personal against anybody. I was simply doing my job for which I have no regrets and I wish them well and I sincerely hope that they will take Nigeria to a level that we can all be proud of.”
The PDPPCO Spokesperson who urged the President- elect to ensure that he brings the nation together, heal the wounds as well as build the bridges in terms of religion, ethnicity and religion, said, “We have come here today to express our gratitude to the Nigerian people for the overwhelming support that we received over the last few weeks when it comes to the issue of the Presidential election.
On whether he would like to serve on the government of Buhari if the incoming President holds out an olive branch to him and the party, Fani- Kayode said, ” we have to join hands to move this country forward. You don’t have to be in government before you do that, this is an election, we need to support the government.”
When asked if the PDP would go to Court, Fani- Kayode said that the leadership of the party would be the one to look at such a scenario because President Jonathan contested under a party platform, adding that it was not a decision by the Campaign Organisation and the party especially with regard to alleged cases of manipulation in the North West, adding that party members would key into a decision reached by the party.
Fani- Kayode continued saying, “We fought a virile, strong, aggressive and very effective campaign on behalf of our candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan and we put the case to the Nigerian people as to why we believe that he ought to have been elected as President for a second term.
“We are very proud of the efforts of our President and of our party and we are also very proud of the efforts of every single one of those who participated in the Presidential Campaign Organisation. As a Directorate we could not have asked for anything more in terms of support and encouragement from our colleagues and comrades within the party and the Campaign Organisation. I am personally very proud of my team, every single one of them; my Assistant Directors, my officers, my advisory team and every single one of those that joined hands to help us to state our case and to sell our candidate to the Nigerian people.
“It has however come to a point that we must tell the world and the Nigerian people about how we feel about the outcome of the election. What we will say here today is basically to reiterate and to reflect the words of our leader and President, President Goodluck Jonathan. We start by saying that we commend and we congratulate General Muammadu Buhari for winning this election. We also wish to commend our President, President Goodluck Jonathan, for having the courage to concede that he has lost the election at the earliest moment and also for being able to stand up and rise above party politics and being able to speak like a statesman.
“We therefore urge the Nigerian people and our teeming supporters to stand firm and continue to support the democratic process and continue to agitate for a better Nigeria. We urge them to continue to support our party the PDP as best as they can even though we lost this election. We ask them to co-operate with the incoming government and to remember that we are first and foremost Nigerians before anything else.
“On the day of the election when I went to vote at Ile-Ife, I held a press conference in which I told the people that more than anything else that we should try our very best to keep the peace in this country and to keep the country moving forward. I also reminded them that in every election there will always be a winner and a loser. It is a mark of our humanity and it is also symptomatic of the type of people that we are and who we are that when the time comes we can say we fought a good fight but we lost.
“And having lost, it does not mean that it is the end to the world, it just means that we need to re-group, re-organise ourselves and begin the process all over again because another elections will come in a few years time. And that is where we are today. We have conceded that we have lost. We acknowledge the fact that we fought a good fight. We do not have any fears about the future. We did the right thing during the campaign. We have no regrets about our candidate or the way in which we conducted our campaign and we will live to fight another day
“May God grant each and everyone of us peace. May He watch over our nation. May He guide our President for the next two months whilst he is still in power and thereafter and may He guide and lead the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, in the herculean task that lies ahead for him. My prayer is that he brings our nation together, heals the wounds and that he builds the bridges in terms of religion, ethnicity and region that he needs to build in order for us to make Nigeria a better place and to ensure that Nigeria becomes a great country that she is destined to be.
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I want to end this message by thanking our colleagues in the press for always responding to us so quickly and for always being ready to hear our message and for putting it out there. Also those on the social media, both friend and foe, we thank you for your efforts. We thank our foes because they kept us on our toes and we thank our friends because they encouraged us and gave us hope.
May God grant you all peace and joy and may you live long and prosper.”
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