Abuja: Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan
has promised an improvement of badly dilapidated
infrastructure to the residents of Lagos, the country's
commercial nerve centre while campaigning for the April 9
presidential election.
Jonathan who is the candidate of the ruling Peoples'
Democratic Party (PDP) in polls told a crowd of supporters in
the opposition stronghold that he would build the former
capital with about 20 million residents into a mega city.
Security was tightened with many roads barricaded by the
police during the campaign causing heavy traffic with many
commuters complaining of reaching their destinations two hours
behind schedule.
"Vote in favour of Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) in
this state to enable you catch up with the development pace
which other states benefit for being in the fold", Jonathan
said in his election speech.
The United States embassy cancelled a press briefing as
the media could not gain entry into the information section
located within the precinct of the president's campaign.
Lagos, home to 14 million people, is controlled by the
nation's strongest opposition party Action Congress of Nigeria
(ACN) whose governor Babatunde Fashola gained wide accolade
within the country as having invested heavily in
infrastructural development especially roads.
"We have nobody to fight and no enemies to make. We are
only talking about moving Lagos forward," Jonathan said at the
Tafawa Balewa Square, the venue of his campaign.
The president's campaign to south eastern Rivers states
saw a huge crowd at a stadium where eleven deaths were
recorded due to crowd pressure.
Elections in Nigeria, Africa's most populous and oil rich
country, are scheduled for next month and names of candidates
have been submitted to the country's Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC).
Nigeria with a population of 150 million returned to
civilian rule in 1999 after several years of military
intervention.
Since then, presidential elections have been conducted
after every four years.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 02, 2011, 15:56