Jonathan will fail Nigerians in 2013 – Groups express fears

Prominent Nigerian political parties, civil society groups and the Arewa Consultative Forum have expressed pessimism that President Goodluck Jonathan’s promise of better performance in 2013 would materialise.
They advised the President to focus on security, employment, corruption and power in the coming year.
It would be recalled that His Excellency who recently admitted that his administration was slow, promised to improve in the coming year.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Anthony Sani, said Nigerians would hold him responsible if he fails to deliver on his promise.
He said, “Mr. President has a manifesto to work with but has yet to fulfill his campaign promises. Rather than follow his manifesto, he removed subsidy on fuel last January and brought out problems.
“Now that he is aware that he’s slow in performance; let him deliver all his earlier promises first before making other ones.”
Also, the convener of Concerned Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, expressed worries that Jonathan would fail the nation again.
According to him: “The first thing for him to do is to be honest with Nigerians. If you want to assess a politician, it is by his delivery and service to his people. Look at the promises he made during his campaign, tell me which one he has fulfilled – none.
“A President must be surrounded with technocrats who share in his vision and have passion for the country. Unfortunately, Jonathan has the worst possible members of cabinet. The people have formed a cabal and do not have any value to add to governance.”
Adding his voice, ace human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) urged President Jonathan to declare his plans for the year 2013.
Falana said: “Now that the President has promised a new lease of life in 2013, he should tell us the areas he wants to focus on. Already, the 2013 budget is almost like that of 2012. The government still has to service our national and questionable debt and run the expensive bureaucratic government structure. He should tell us how he wants to perform the miracle.”
Also, leading opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has advised the government to focus on security, employment and power in 2013.
ACN’s National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed said: “We will be more than happy, if he performs better next year. That will reduce the hardship being experienced by the masses and improve their standard of living. We will encourage and assist him to perform better.
“But the question is: Is there anything on ground for him to work with? If you want to commission a house next year, you must have acquired a piece of land by now. A better performance by him will be a pleasant surprise and we will welcome it.”
Similarly, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) said Nigerians should not put hope on Jonathan in the New Year.
The founder, Oodu’a Peoples Congress, Frederick Fasehun, also stated that Nigerians should give the President benefit of the doubt.
He said: “The quality of any leadership is a reflection of the quality of the followership. If the followership will not rise up to criticise the leadership for its substandard delivery, then the followership should settle with what it has.”
Meanwhile, Jonathan’s Party, the PDP has called asked him to tackle corruption and insecurity in the coming year.
The National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said, “Our expectation, as a political party, is for the President to focus on corruption and insecurity. The insecurity includes the violence in the North and the kidnappings in the South.
“Corruption is not peculiar to public office holders. It is found in all sectors of the society. If we get the war against corruption right, there will be betterment in all areas of our lives.”
DailyPost