Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau has said that President Goodluck Jonathan will win the presidential election in the state even if he does not campaign there.
Jang predicated Jonathan’s re-election for a second on the local government council election holding on Tuesday which he is optimistic will be won by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
“I have already told him (president), that he is going to win effortlessly in Plateau. I have told him that he does not need to campaign here,” he said.
Jang therefore urged the people of the state to troop out en mass to vote in the election.
The governor has also declared Tuesday, February 25, public holiday, to enable residents vote for their local government council officials.
As usual, vehicular movement is also restricted.
The governor called for peaceful conduct throughout the election period, saying necessary security arrangements had been put in place for that day.
He said: “I urge all of you that will be participating in the elections to be peaceful. All security arrangements have been made, and I have the assurances of the security chiefs that they are fully ready for the polls. We don’t rig elections, we win elections, so we must work for victory by coming out to vote as we did in 2011.”
Jang also promised that the 17 local government chairmen that would emerge from the polls would work assiduously for the development of the local governments under his supervision.
He also promised the people that God would give them a governor after His own heart when his tenure expires in 2015.
“It may be a woman this time,” he said.
Chairman of the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission, PLASIEC, Peter Dalyop, said that the commission is ready to conduct the local government council polls in the state and has completed arrangements to move all the essential materials to where they would be sent to the grassroots.
“Logistics have been completed by sending electoral materials from the local government headquarters to the polling units,” he said.
The elections are holding for the first time since 2009 when the councils were dissolved.