PRESS RELEASE
We have noted with dismay the continuation
of efforts by leaders of the opposition to promote themselves and their party
through the irresponsible denigration of President Goodluck Jonathan and the
exalted Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The interim
national chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande sank to a new low in this
regard yesterday when he rudely and falsely described President Jonathan as a
“kindergarten” leader who treats national issues with levity.
*President Jonathan
Chief Bisi Akande has every right to
embark on a flight of fancy about the APC beating the PDP in the 2015 general
elections, but he does no justice to his age and status when he resorts to
propagating falsehood, wilfully insulting the President of his country,
impugning his integrity and desecrating the very office which his party wishes
to take over in 2015 by fair or foul means.
We urge 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.
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.
Also, nothing else but gross
ignorance and lack of consideration could have led Chief Akande to refer to a
President who, having served as deputy governor, governor, vice president and
president, has far more experience of governance at the highest level than him
and his preferred “candidates”, as a kindergarten leader.
*Akande
By his very unguarded and intemperate
outburst yesterday, Chief Akande exhibited 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.
It is very sad and unfortunate that
unbridled ambition for the office they constantly impugn and denigrate has
blinded Chief Akande and his ilk to the visible accomplishments of the Jonathan
Presidency.
Certainly, nothing else but a manic and
unscrupulous quest for power could have led them to make such accusations
against a President who, who amongst other significant achievements, has been
praised for his handling of the insurgency in some parts of Northern Nigeria
where he has used a combination of diplomacy and targeted military force to
contain the security threat.
Nothing else but the relentless pursuit of
narrow personal and sectional interests could lead them to make such claims
about a President under whose leadership Nigeria's economy has been promoted
from a low income economy to a middle income economy by the World Bank and
whose leadership has seen the Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria increase at an
annual rate of over 6% since he took office.
Finally, though President Jonathan has not
indicated whether or not he is interested in a second term, Chief Akande, who
has taken stock of his party and seen that they have no electable presidential
material is already trying to be clever by half by claiming the President is
statute-barred from contesting in 2015 saying it will amount to a "third
term".
*President Jonathan And Bola Tinubu
If this is the winning strategy of
the APC, Chief Akande has every reason to panic because the issue of
eligibility for election into the office of the President has been settled by
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as
amended which provides as follows;
137. (1) A person shall not be qualified
for election to the office of President if -
(b) he has been elected to such office at
any two previous elections;
President Goodluck Jonathan has been
elected into office on only ONE previous occasion and is therefore not
statute-barred from running.
It is clear that the APC is seeking to
bait the Presidency to respond to it to achieve two purposes. The first purpose
is to get their name into the press and gain name recognition for their party.
How pathetic. The second and more important reason is to divert the attention
of the public from the festering feud between Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu
over the overriding ambition of the two men which is threatening to tear the
new contraption which is mistakenly referred to by the gullible as a party.
To the discerning, it is only a matter of
time before ambition sinks the APC boat. It is only 2013 and already the big
masquerades in the party are using undemocratic words like "must",
"nobody can stop" and other military terms in discussing their
presidential ticket.
Our advice to the APC is this: treat
your party like a democratic association and don't mistake it for the Armoured
Personnel Carrier (APC) that someone used to force his way to power.
By Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media and Publicity)
August 11, 2013
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