2015 Polls: PDP Loss, Just a Temporary Setback, Says Alkali 

The Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, has described the outcome of the 2015 general election, in which the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lost to the All Progressives Congress (APC), as a temporary setback, stressing that it was not the end of the party.

Alkali, who stated this, on Monday, in Abuja, however appealed to the supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan to use the transition period as a time for self-reflection to heal and re-strategise.

According to him: “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.

“We should all see the outcome of the presidential election as temporary setback, not a full-stop in a long sentence of the political history of this great country – Nigeria”, he said.

Alkali said that although the President and the PDP lost in the election, it was only a bus-stop but certainly not a terminus, as all the supporters of Jonathan were still the most critical political assets of the PDP and awaits the direction of the party. “It is conceivable that as a result of this unprecedented setback, our members and supporters may lose focus, hope and direction and even be tempted to engage in divisive activities, nonetheless, we should be more united, than ever before, as the task now is to join hands together to strengthen the party,” Alkali stated.

He thus called on all the supporters of President Jonathan nationwide, especially the men and women that contributed to the campaigns and stood for the President in the just concluded presidential election, to remain calm and resolute as the country prepares for the May 29 handover to the incoming administration.