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Tag: Jonathan

  • 2015: Arewa asks Jonathan to honour agreements

    2015: Arewa asks Jonathan to honour agreements

    President Goodluck Jonathan got yesterday a piece of advice – he should respect agreements he entered into with stakeholders.

    This, to the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), is a way of addressing the problems within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which conveys the impression that the party is at war.

    ACF spokesman, Anthony Sani, told The Nation exclusively that President Jonathan has enough time between now and 2015 to address the problem, adding that the events in the party are not healthy for the growth of democracy.

    The ACF is a pan-Northern socio-political organisation.

    Sani, who was reacting to the visit of Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and others to some past leaders, said the Forum believed that the governors want to be carried along in the management of the party.

    He said: “Our understanding of the G-5 governors is that they want governors to be carried along in the management of their party, they want internal democracy and they want an end to divisions as well as internal democracy within the party, and for President Jonathan to respect agreements he entered into voluntarily with stakeholders.

    Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu, has said that President Jonathan entered into an agreement with Northern leaders to spend only one term in office.

    The Niger governor urged the President to honour the agreement by not seeking reelection.

    But Presidency official have denied the existence of such an agreement, insisting, however that the President is yet to declare interest in running for a second term.

    “The five governors may not be totally wrong, considering the happenings in the ruling party, which convey an impression that PDP is at war with itself, which is unhealthy. More frustrating is the inability of 35 governors to elect their leaders, which some people believe is pointing to what will happen in 2015. But I hope Mr President has enough time to bring the situation under control before 2015.”

    Sani said the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would open up the democratic space and offer Nigerians alternatives during elections.

    Said Sani: “The registration of APC gladdened our heart because it could bring about a viable alternative platform to the ruling party, since democracy without a viable opposition is a sham.

    “More so that ACF has recommended a two-party system for the country, with clear choices on how to assume responsibility for real issues of real concern to real Nigerians. Before now, Nigeria claimed to operate a multiparty democracy, yet all the parties have been mere clones of one another.

    “As a result, the choice for the voters has been reduced from which party could deliver on the promise of democracy to which party had the capacity to win elections. We hope the registration of APC will arrest such a trend by enriching the polity with democratic tenets for public good”.

    Sani also said that the ACF believed that “President Obasanjo may not be totally wrong to submit that the feckless performance of leaders in our climes is at its worst with the younger generation, since the younger generations have been in the driver’s seat for quite some time now without sign posts to improvement.

    “All we hear are security challenges posed by insurgents, by armed robbers, kidnappers, baby factory, militant activism, piracy, unemployment and corruption, that have combined to steal Nigerians’ empowerment, their opportunities and their future.

    “That is why Nigeria carts home gold medals in Misery Indices and brings up the rear in Human Development Index. And this is made possible because the youths who are more in number and can bring about good leadership in a democracy have failed to make judicious use of their democratic rights and ensure that votes count so that the leaders who emerge would be accountable to the people. Once votes do not count, the leaders would not account to the people.”

    To Sani, the renewed killings by the Boko Haram Islamic sect, are “not surprising because terrorism is driven by the highest commitment of those who believe they have nothing to gain anymore in living on earth, but more to gain in death. “And so, nobody expected the task of subduing the sect would be a tea party.”

    “You recall when America overran terrorists in Iraq and deposed President Saddam Hussein, President George Bush boasted that it was, “Mission accomplished with precision”, without knowing that would be the beginning of more than 10 years campaigns that would cost America 4,400 soldiers and over $800 billion.Terrorism is still in Iraq after America has left.

    “We believe the government knows that the use of force that goes with declaration of state of emergency was meant to reclaim those local government areas seized by the sect, and not that the use of force could contain their activities to some satisfactory level.

    “And that is why there are still consciously directed efforts by the government to bring the sect into the negotiation table. And that is why ACF encourages the Federal Government to pursue the option of dialogue with those members of the sect who are agreeable to it in the hope that the extreme reluctant members may join as the process progresses.

    “We also call on members of the sect to stop the killings of innocent people and embrace dialogue as the only viable option that can address their perceived grievances. Force does not bring about peace because peace is not absence of conflicts but ability to resolve conflict peacefully.

    “ACF was among the groups which pressurised ASUU to dialogue with the government that brought about the agreement being bandied about. As a mark of good faith, one would expect the government to respect and implement the agreements with stakeholders.

    “But if the prevailing circumstance makes it almost impossible for government to implement the agreement, one expects ASUU to know and understand. It is against this backdrop that the ACF calls on both parties to come to terms with reality and make ASUU call off the strike in the interest of the students .

    The ACF recommended “the scrapping of the Joint Account, which has been abused by state governments at the expense of socio economic development of the people who are closest to local governments, provided some provisions are made on how state governments can make laws to help in effective and efficient management of local governments”.

  • Jonathan, PDP fret as opposition consolidates

    Jonathan, PDP fret as opposition consolidates

    •Rainbow coalition imminent as PDM may collaborate with APC
    •Atiku under PDP watch

    There is disquiet in the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following what some associates of the President term “consolidation by the opposition” towards 2015 poll.

    To the associates, the newly registered Peoples Democratic Movement may collaborate with the main opposition coalition, All Progressives Congress, to unseat President Goodluck Jonathan. The development is said to be causing unease for the President.

    Our correspondent learnt that the permutations of Jonathan’s strategists on 2015 poll are no longer adding up due to the birth of APC, emergence of PDM, recalcitrance of five PDP governors, the likely split of PDP as a result of internal stress and the crisis in Rivers State where about 2.3 million votes are at stake.

    A reliable source, who does not want his name in print, said: “We are aware that the opposition is consolidating in different forms. Initially, APC is being tackled but it seems the mega party, as the promoters call it, is just an eye opener of what the opposition is up to.

    “The emergence of PDM is a new challenge, it is no doubt adding to the political headache posed by the APC. It is apparent that the opposition is firing from different flanks in readiness for a coalition. One will not be surprised if another strong party from the opposition emerges tomorrow.

    “The presidency and the PDP have started weighing options; trust that we will devise means of curtailing the opposition”

    Another source said: “The President has done everything to secure at least five out of the six states in the South-South and four out of the five states in the South-East to neutralise the huge votes the opposition is likely to get in the North-West.

    “If there will be any setback, it will be in Rivers. The battle in Rivers State is crucial to the Presidency because about 2.3million votes are at stake. Loss of Rivers State to the opposition could wipe away the votes from other five states in the South-South.

    “Even the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) had always had its victory determined by the old Rivers State.”

    Although the President is banking on votes from the six states in North-Central, he is unsure of support from Niger, Kwara, and Nasarawa States. While he can take the situation for granted in Plateau and Kogi, it is slippery in Benue State with strong opposition coming from APC. Many believed that the Action Congress of Nigeria, one of the parties in APC, was robbed in 2011 in the state and with other opposition parties now in APC, Benue will be a battleground state.

    A PDP chieftain said yesterday: “The President knows that the threat from the opposition is real. And the consolidation of the opposition through the PDM is causing tension in the PDP.”

    He said the PDP is particularly worried by the political development because forces behind the PDM had played a crucial role in the formation of PDP.

    He said PDP leaders believe that ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar had a hand in the formation of PDM, despite his denial of being the brain behind it.

    To checkmate PDM, some stalwarts of PDP and forces in the Presidency, it was learnt, are pushing for deregistration of Atiku from the ruling party. The PDP, it was further learnt, will do everything possible to find out if Atiku is the financier of PDM.At an appraisal meeting at the weekend, some PDP leaders were said to have declared that there is no difference between Atiku and his associates who formed the PDM.

    It was alleged that Atiku merely came up with Plan B through his associates to avoid being humiliated in PDP as was the case in 2011 when he was stranded after he was defeated by President Goodluck Jonathan in the presidential primary.

    It was learnt that some PDP chieftains and forces in the Presidency rated the formation of PDM as an attempt to divide PDP by Atiku and his associates.

    Some party leaders felt it would be dangerous to continue to have Atiku in PDP when his heart is in PDM.

    A renowned member who spoke in confidence said: “There is no doubt that PDM came as a result of a plot to divide PDP. Some aggrieved members of the party are behind the new party.

    “PDP leaders are unhappy that some leaders will be pretending to be in the party and at the same time, they will undermine it. The emergence of PDM has thrown a challenge to PDP to look for these dissidents or rebels in its midst because if they continue like this, they will be spying the ruling party for PDM.

    “So, the involvement of some PDP members in the formation of PDP is being looked into. Such members or leaders might face disciplinary action if necessary.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “I think some of our leaders are of strong opinion that Atiku allegedly had a hand in PDM. They alleged that Atiku had done a similar thing in 2007 when he found solace in Action Congress (AC) to contest the presidential poll.

    “The ex-VP had denied the allegation but the PDP is investigating a few things on how PDM emerged. But there is no way PDP will harbour members of another party in its midst. This will be tactically dangerous. We are looking into many options to keep the PDP intact from intruders.”

    But the PDM yesterday unfolded its mission and vowed to tackle the security crisis facing the nation.

    It also said it has placed priority on national unity, economic reforms, the rule of law, public accountability, human rights, democracy and the legitimacy of dissent.

    The PDM has unveiled its mission statement in a release in Abuja by its National Secretariat.

    The party it in its Mission Statement said: “In the last decade, Nigeria has witnessed an unprecedented decline in its social, economic and political fortunes.

    “The recent lingering political and security crisis has magnified the cleavages in the nation’s multi-ethnic society and pushed our national psyche into a state of confusion, uncertainty and helplessness.

    “ The nation is now faced with a rapidly deteriorating situation of human deprivation and economic stagnation which is threatening the nation with an ultimate structural collapse.

    “This needs not be the plight of Nigeria and the Nigerian people because our nation is endowed with a large, quality population, abundant natural resources and a unique geo-economic location.”

    It promised to reposition the country and restore its lost glory.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Jonathan has vision for Nigeria, says Morro

    Jonathan has vision for Nigeria, says Morro

    THE Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Morro, has said that President Goodluck Jonathan has vision for Nigeria.

    He advised those aspiring to his office to tell Nigerians what they would do rather than instead of criticising the President.

    Speaking to reporters at his Ugbokolo country home in Okpukwu local government area, Morro noted with concern the vicious criticisms aimed at Jonathan by aspirants.

    He said past office holders, and not Jonathan, were responsible for the total collapse of public institutions like Railway, Nigeria Airways and refineries.

    According to him: “We found ourselves in this rot because those who were at the saddle of leadership failed to do what they were supposed to do and President Goodluck Jonathan inherited his, the situation and is doing the best.”

    The minister appealed to past leaders to borrow a leave from America and Britain where no past office holder openly criticise a sitting President.

    He added: “Have you seen any of them criticise their predecessors in office like what some past leaders are doing now in the country?”

    Morro distanced himself from reports linking him to the 2015 governorship race in Benue.

    He maintained that Jonathan has entrusted him with internal security, adding that

    it will be foolhardy of him to be talking about the race while serving as a minister.

    According to the minister: “I am not interested in the 2015 governorship race in Benue, which is two years away.

    “I have a huge task of supporting Mr. President who has a vision for Nigeria. I cannot be talking of 2015 and be a Minister again so count me out.”

     

  • Group tasks Jonathan on 2nd Niger Bridge

    WORLD Ndigbo Youth Movement (WNYM), a pan Igbo organisation, yesterday rose from a two-day summit in Enugu with a call on President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure the fulfilment of his promise on the completion of the 2nd Niger Bridge in Onitsha, Anambra State.

    While describing the bridge as a gateway to the East, the movement wondered why the Federal Government would want to isolate the 2nd Niger Bridge for its experiment on public private partnership (PPP), instead of the outright award of the project as it has done in other parts of the country.

    In an eight-point communiqué signed by the leadership of the group, including the National President, Ndubuisi Igwekani and Secretary General, Sunday Ibeatu, the youths body also urged the Federal government to immediately end the excesses of Boko Haram.

    “We support the position taken by the CAN President, Ayo Oritsejefor, that the committee set up to pursue amnesty for the sect members should be disbanded as such approach is tantamount to encouraging the terrorists to continue to unleash mayhem on innocent and defenceless Nigerians,” the group stressed.

    The group insisted that Ndigbo will produce the next President of Nigeria in 2015, and expressed its resolve to support a political party that will present an Igbo candidate for the presidential polls.

  • Women pivotal to Nigeria’s future – Jonathan

    Women pivotal to Nigeria’s future – Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan said on Friday in Abuja that women were pivotal to the future development of the country.

    The president made the remark when he received the “Lifetime Icon Award’’ for women’s rights from the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) at a dinner on Thursday that ran into the early hours of Friday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the dinner was organised to round off a rally on National Women’s Day for Peace organised by the council.

    “Indeed, Nigerian women have championed significant national social transformation programmes that have had an enduring impact on the well-being of the country.

    “’You are all witnesses to the important and visible roles being played by women in this democratic dispensation by ensuring that democracy, not only strives but that value is added to the lives of our people,” the president said.

    Jonathan said that the Nigerian woman was not only an important part of the country’s history, but a pivot of future development as a nation.

    “I strongly believe that we cannot accomplish the goals of our transformation agenda, if women, comprising about 50 per cent of our population, are not truly integrated into our developmental efforts and programmes.”

    He pledged his continuous support for women and the use of their expertise should the need arose.

    “This administration on its part has served ample notice that it will take every measure necessary that will bring on board the resources that women have to offer.

    “Our track record in this regard is very clear. As an ardent supporter and promoter of women empowerment, I accept with appreciation the Lifetime Icon Award that has been bestowed on me today, “he said.

     

  • No short cut to economic prosperity – Jonathan

    No short cut to economic prosperity – Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday said that there are no short cuts to economic prosperity as he urged Nigerians to put in their best in whatever occupational activities they found themselves.

    He made the remark through Vice President Namadi Sambo at the 13th National Productivity Day Celebrations and Conferment of the National Productivity Order of Merit Award in Abuja.

    He said: “No matter our calling, it is only through hard work, diligence and discipline that success can be achieved.”

    The President admitted that there was need for motivation and favourable working conditions in order to improve productivity.

    According to him, his administration was working assiduously to re-engineer attitudinal outlook, which would “emphasise the dignity of labour, integrity, honesty, discipline and hard work in the workplace.”

    “We are also resolved to effect new service reward system that will promote productivity, efficiency and excellence,” he added.

    To this end, the president said his administration was not only strengthening the National Productivity Centre, but also addressing the infrastructure deficit through the development of a National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP).

    He said that the government was vigorously diversifying the economy to drive wealth and job creation.

     

     

     

  • Akande and Jonathan’s combative aides

    Akande and Jonathan’s combative aides

    Chief Bisi Akande, the interim chairman of newly registered APC, must by now be wondering what he said about an elected president to warrant the verbal assault from President Jonathan’s combative media aides. He must be having a nostalgic craving for the old constitutional monarchy of his people where leaders earned their positions, answerable to the people and can be told to abdicate if they betray the trust of the people. Part of what may be agitating his mind could also be whether we have not made a mistake to trade the old reliable system for the current variant of PDP democracy where losers resort to self-help and where might is right.

    The old man had incurred the wrath of the angry and combative media experts when he last week stated that ‘following two meetings he had with the president since 2011 and two other long telephone conversation on two other different occasions to discuss serious challenges facing the country, he came to the conclusion that the president has reduced governance to kindergarten level and that he is not serious-minded.’ He also accused him handling national issues with levity as well as of embarking on witch-hunt of political enemies citing the cases of Asiwaju Tinubu who was dragged before the Code of Conduct Bureau, even while the president has refused to declare his own assets and Rotimi Amaechi, who was being persecuted because of what the chief described as ‘his insistence that the allocation of the country must be judiciously shared among local, state and the federal governments.’

    The above is what the president aides dismissed as “an unguarded and intemperate outburst, not only an unbecoming lack of respect for the person and office of the President of his country, but also a complete disregard for the patriotic feelings of the millions of Nigerians who voted for President Jonathan and who continue to appreciate his sincere efforts to positively transform the nation.’ He was also accused of ‘rudely and falsely describing President Jonathan as a ‘kindergarten’ leader who treats national issues with levity’. It doesn’t matter whether there is an element of truth in this claim for the president who has not found time to publicly address the ongoing ASUU strike or thought it necessary as the father of all in the on-going intra-party crisis in Rivers to call to order rascals who claimed to be fighting his family’s wars. They also did not forget to warn “Chief Akande and his fellow-travellers to remember that there are laws against libel and defamation of character in this country even if there are no legal impediments to indecorous, hypocritical and unpatriotic vituperations.” As a final shot, they said “It is certainly rude, ill-mannered, uncharitable and hypocritical for Chief Akande to falsely and cavalierly allege that a President who toils tirelessly every day of the week, evolving and implementing workable solutions to Nigeria’s problems, is handling national issues with levity.’ For maximum effect they cited one of the president major achievements- ‘his well acclaimed deft handling of the insurgency.’

    And for accusing Jonathan of playing ethnic and religious politics in order to divert attention from his bad governance, the media aides have also taken a swipe at El-Rufai, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. They dismissed him as a ‘serial liar.’ They want Nigerians to note that El-Rufai ‘profaned the name of Jesus Christ on Twitter by tweeting a joke which is too indecent to mention in the presence of civilized persons’.

    And to demonstrate that President Jonathan does not play religious and ethnic politics, they called attention to the president who ‘though a Christian took part in the just-concluded Ramadan fast and broke his fast with Muslim faithful every evening.’ Besides they cited ‘the quantum of funds that Jonathan had spent on education specifically tailored for Islamic itinerant scholars known as the almajiris,’ to demonstrate his tolerance of all religions.

    The PDP through its acting secretary Okeke also descended heavily on Chief Akande claiming that ‘the main agenda of Akande and other prominent members of the APC were to liquidate the nation’s economy’. He did not say how but added that ‘Akande and El-Rufai were aggrieved because of the refusal of the President to join the APC when he was invited’. I suspect a tinge of blackmail is allowed here to justify the righteous indignation of the president’s media aides and PDP.

    President Ebele Jonathan has for over two years worked under severe strains. The thankless albeit a privileged job of paddling the affairs of our great nation has started to take its toll. Watching him closely during his last visit to his godfather, ex-President Obasanjo in Abeokuta, the scars have become very visible. He is fast aging, while some of his ministers, special advisers, and some rabble rousers who claim to be the president co-crusaders are developing rosy cheeks and rotund faces.

    The angry media aides have been called upon to assuage the president’s apparent feelings of despondency, celebrate his self-acclaimed giant strides, and insulate him from the offensive actions of some of his PDP feral party members. They are also aware the president as a toy in the hands of PDP political warlords is called upon to take responsibility for the mundane, the ludicrous and outright invidious actions of PDP unruly family members. But the media experts are equally aware that the opposition is the weakest link.

    For instance it was not the president but PDP that influenced the emergence of Ahmadu Alli as chairman of PDP as well as his chairmanship of PPRA. Yet his presidency suffered collateral damage when the later was accused of presiding over the loss of about N1.7 trillion in phantom fuel subsidy. When poor Nigerians were indirectly called upon to pay through taxation, which experts said best described the fuel pump price increase, the president took direct responsibility. When his economic advisers misinformed millions of his admirers who gave him a landslide victory that the price increase would affect only the middle class car owners and the wealthy Lagos residents, the president alone faced the outrage of commuters, petty business owners and 140 millions Nigerians that the minister for power claimed have no access to electricity.

    When overzealous police officers under the police commissioner Joseph Mbu shut down a section of Port Harcourt where the first lady has her mansion erected, making it impossible for even the governor to move, the president is called upon to check the excesses of his unelected wife. When the governor of Balyelsa appointed the president’s wife, Dr Patience Jonathan, a permanent secretary to operate from the presidency in Abuja, the president was accused of nepotism. Even when Bipi the leader of a gang of five that illegally attempted to take over Rivers State House of Assembly proclaimed the first lady a messiah for whom he was prepared to lay down his life, the president was the one accused of blasphemy by his fellow Christians. As we can see from the account of how Nyesom Wike emerged as a minister, infiltration of the president’s cabinet by leaders of the South-south militants as well as the North-east Boko Haram was the handiwork of PDP.

    But as I said on this page last week, both Doyin Okupe and Ahmed Gulak failed to protect the president from bad press because instead of focusing on improving the quality of their product, they adopted an outdated media model of leaving the substance to chase the shadows. The product and its qualities contribute to the making of a successful brand. The decision by Reuben Abati to now join and invigorate the efforts of the duo will not make the press legitimize President Jonathan’s assault on the spirit of the constitution. It is also not likely that angry verbal assault on Chief Akande by combative media aides while ignoring the important issues he had raised will suddenly lead to a change of fortune for a government that has not only failed to meet the aspirations of the people, but generally considered as very corrupt by both national and international press.

  • Jonathan greets Odili at 65

    Jonathan greets Odili at 65

    President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated the former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, on his 65th birthday which comes up on Thursday.

    A statement signed by his media aide, Dr. Reuben Abati, said “On behalf of himself, his family, the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Jonathan conveyed ‘very warm felicitations’ to Dr. Odili.”

    “I pray that Almighty God continues to guide, guard and prosper you, even as he blesses you with abounding health and many more years of personal fulfilment and distinguished service to humanity and our dear country, Nigeria,” the President wrote.

    President Jonathan wished the former governor very happy birthday celebrations.

     

  • Prove Akande wrong, Akinola tells Jonathan

    Prove Akande wrong, Akinola tells Jonathan

    •Cleric urges Nigerians to fight corruption

    Former Primate of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion Dr. Peter Akinola (rtd) yesterday said the Interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, has a right to air his view on the performance of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

    The cleric said it is up to the president to prove Akande wrong.

    He said the characterisation of Jonathan’s administration as “kindergarten” by Akande was not the “issue”, adding that Nigerians are concerned about how the President has been handling major issues.

    The former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria(CAN) said Jonathan has had the rare luck of being the first doctorate degree holder to occupy the number one seat of the nation, coupled with the privilege of experiencing governance as a deputy governor, governor, vice- president and now president.

    He asked whether his experience have helped in his handling of national issues.

    Akande, a former Osun State governor, recently said the Presidency is not for the “kindergarten”, a remark that triggered angry reactions from the president’s camp.

    Speaking with reporters at his country home in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Dr. Akinola said people who do not agree with a government are free to express their opinions.

    He said: “Nigerians voted for him (the President), so he has to tell them what he has done to be given a second chance.

    “He can be called any name by anybody, that is not the issue. The issue is: Is this government responding to issues affecting Nigeria as it ought to? The president has a Ph.D and has learnt governance in terms of experience as deputy governor, governor and vice -president, so why are things the way they are in the country?

    “Unfortunately a tree cannot make a forest and he is surrounded by hawks and political wolves. So what will he tell Nigerians when asked about his earlier promises.”

    As the nation’s centenary anniversary draws nearer, the cleric urged political leaders to break away from corruption and build a new Nigeria.

    The press conference was organised by the Peter Akinola Foundation to mark the concluding part of the “Wake-Up-Call” series of discussions on the debilitating effects of corruption in the country.

    Dr. Akinola lamented the absence of leaders with the political will to tackle corruption and urged the nation’s leaders to emulate China, Singapore, Ghana, Botswana and Burundi, which he said have shown the political will to clean their system.

    He said: “If there must be hope for a better country, Nigeria must break the corruption jinx. People must realise that corruption does not represent the most disingenuous invention or creation of modern man.

    “For Nigeria, endemic corruption constitutes a huge challenge and remains the biggest obstacle to its development.

    “Its harmful effect is the reason Nigeria, which is very endowed, has become a crawling/beggar-nation, with millions of poor, miserable and unhappy citizens.

    “Nigeria cannot continue to accommodate corrupt leaders with docility. More so now that the United States, which is Nigeria’s biggest oil importer, is on the throes of becoming self-sufficient in its oil needs.

    “With oil no longer the black gold it used to be; with endless external borrowing for no just cause and with corruption unchecked, Nigeria’s future is definitely under serious threat.”

    Dr. Akinola urged Nigerians to develop zero-tolerance for corruption at all levels.

    He said decisive action should be taken to strengthen the fight against corruption to ensure a bright future.

     

  • APC to Jonathan: go to court if you feel libelled

    APC to Jonathan: go to court if you feel libelled

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to go to court if he feels libelled by the description of his presidency as a kindergarten presidency by the Interim National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande.

    In a statement in Accra yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said Chief Akande merely told the truth by his characterisation of the Jonathan presidency, adding: “Isn’t truth a defence to libel?”

    It also said there was nothing strange or wrong in criticising a democratically-elected President. “After all, he is neither an imperial president, a monarchy nor an emperor.”

    APC said nothing confirmed Chief Akande’s assertion that Jonathan is running a kindergarten presidency than the crude manner it (presidency) responded to the frank but constructive criticism by the APC National Chairman.

    “In the true character of this presidency, its irreverent and undignified spokesman failed to respond to the issues raised by Chief Akande. Instead, he chose to haul abuses at a man who is old enough to be his father. Such irresponsible act does no credit to the spokesman or the president he is serving, and Nigerians will not forget such crudity in a hurry.

    “Where is the presidency’s response to Chief Akande’s assertion that he has written two letters to the President over the serious challenges facing the country, without getting a response? Where is the presidency’s response to Chief Akande’s assertion that President Jonathan is victimising political opponents? These are the issues Nigerians are interested in, not how many hours the President sleeps at night because he is supposedly working tirelessly.

    “If indeed this President is working tirelessly, we need to ask who he is working for because Nigerians are yet to feel the impact of his administration. They are also not interested that the president once served as a deputy governor, governor and vice-president, because the experience he supposedly garnered from doing so has not impacted positively on his duty as a president. That’s not a surprise, considering that the President owes his meteoric rise in politics to luck and destiny. Nothing else!” the party said.

    It described the presidency as an under-achieving one, always eager to celebrate tokenism, using questionable statistics.

    “As the presidency was composing its empty response to the serious issues raised by our highly-respected Chairman, the African Development Bank was saying in its annual report (African Economic Outlook), quoted by the local media on Sunday, that the proportion of people (Nigerians) living below the national poverty line has worsened from 65.5 per cent in 1996 to 69.0 per cent in 2010, most of those years under the PDP and the last four under President Jonathan.

    “What therefore is there to celebrate in a presidency under which power generation has fallen to 2,500MW? What is there to celebrate in a presidency that has only given Nigerians widespread insecurity, unemployment, dilapidated infrastructure, oil theft and unbridled corruption. Of what use is the touted six per cent increase in the GDP when over 40 per cent of our youths are unemployed?” APC queried.

    The party described as a figment of the presidency’s imagination the claim of a feud between its leaders, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, saying the PDP and the presidency have been peddling lies over a phantom feud because they could not fathom how the leadership of the APC could put national interest above personal considerations.

    “Mr. President, don’t let your lick-spittle aides deceive you. There is no feud between the two leaders. Waiting for such a feud is like ‘Waiting for Godot’”, it said.