Mmebers of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), in Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu States, have described  the recent emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan as the presidential candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) as a restatement of the collective faith of Nigerians in the unity and corporate existence of the country.

The victory, according to them, was enough to motivate Nigerians of voting age to go out and register in the ongoing registration of voter’s which commenced nationwide last Saturday to enable them vote for candidates of their choice during the forthcoming general elections in April this year.

Making their feelings known in a statement signed by chairman of the Association, Dr. Chike Obidigbo, and made available to newsmen in Enugu, the body noted  that the PDP presidential primary had come and gone without any form of crisis, stressing however, that the peaceful conclusion of the election had proved wrong naysayers and doubting Thomases who predicted problem.

“We are therefore happy to note that the much talked about PDP Presidential primaries have come and gone without any negative stories or threat to our collective existence as a nation.

“The extent  to which the nation’s polity was heated up by the campaigns made doubting Thomases to predict the worst for the country. None of those negative things happened, and to the joy of all, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and Namadi Sambo clinched the ticket”, the statement said.

The MAN chairman, expressed the hope that the success of the President in the primaries would prepare him to face and win the approval of Nigerian voters at the general election, saying that the outcome of the general elections in April would go a long way to determine how far Nigeria would fare in its developmental strides. 

Nigerians, they went on, are eager to join the rest of the world in celebrating the growth that comes with political stability and democracy, adding that they believe that the forthcoming general elections  would chart the pathway for “our national development, and convince the world that the next fifty years would put our country among the stable economies of the industrialised nations. “Jonathan’s emergence as the PDP presidential candidate rekindles the hope that Nigerians are tired of the old ways”, the statement said further.

Dr. Obidigbo used the forum to state that his association would continue to engage  governments at all levels to take the issue of manufacturing  seriously in order to address the growing unemployment problems in the country. According to him, the  prime caused of criminality in the country revolves around unemployment  and governance in the past.

“We would therefore, like to use this opportunity to call on President Jonathan to ensure that the  Akanu  Ibiam International Airport, Enugu,  becomes functional as soon as he said possible  so as to permanently eradicate the suffering of Eastern business men and travellers’. He explained that being the aerial gateway to the Southeast, the airway is fundamental to the growth of the economy of the entire region.

Obidigbo, also  called on the president to do all in  his powers to ensure the viability of Port Harcour and Onne ports to provide alternative platforms to decongest the Lagos port, adding that in this era of globalization, whatever  could be done to ensure speedy clearance of goods is a step in the right direction.