BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU
ABUJA—Twenty-one parties in the country, under the aegis of Patriotic Electoral Alliance of Nigeria, PEAN, have thrown their weight behind President Goodluck Jonahan and Vice-President, Namadi Sambo for the 2011 April presidential election.
PEAN at the launching of Jonathan-Sambo presidential campaign in Nasarawa State yesterday, said the 21 parties were sure that Jonathan-Sambo presidency will make a difference in the leadership of the country.

Speaking on behalf of the parties, Alhaji Shittu Mohammed said the body had carefully screened all the presidential candidates and found that Jonathan-Sambo candidacy was the best of them all.

According to him, “having considered the presidential candidates that merged in the recent primaries and conventions of their political parties, PEAN is satisfied that only Jonathan-Sambo ticket has the best manifesto, blueprint and programme to take the nation to another level of development and prosperity”

The 21 parties under the PEAN are: Mega Progressive People’s Party, MPPP; Republican Party of Nigeria, RPN; Nigerian People’s Congress, NPC; Democratic Peoples’ Alliance, DPA; Advance Congress of Democrats, ACD; Peoples Progressive Party, PPP; National Majority Democratic Party, NMDP; Action Alliance, AA; Masses Movement of Nigeria, MMN; Change Advocacy Party, CAP, and National Movement of Progressive Party, NMPP.

Others include Liberal Democratic Party of Nigeria, LDPN; Movement for Restoration and Defence of Democracy, MRDD; United National Party for Development, UNPD; Movement for Democracy and Justice, MDJ, Action Party of Nigeria, APN; Alliance for Democracy, AD; New Democrats, ND; United Democratic Party, UDP and ACCORD.

Mohammed said: “PEAN hereby declare our formal support for Jonathan-Sambo ticket and endorse their presidency.”
He stated that all member parties of PEAN that had presidential candidates would collapse them into Jonathan-Sambo ticket.

He said: “All PEAN member parties who have fielded presidential candidates shall collapse such structures across the country for the success of Jonathan-Sambo ticket”.

Mohammed encouraged other parties yet to support Jonathan-Sambo ticket to do so in the interest of the country.
“We urge those who have not joined the Jonathan-Sambo ticket to catch up immediately as the ship of Nigerian state proudly sails to the Promised Land,” he said.