*Ezeife, Balarabe Musa, Kaita, Aturu, Junaid Mohammed slam Okupe
*PDP accuses ACN, CPC, others of deceit
By Emmanuel Aziken, Olasunkanmi Akoni, Henry Umoru, DAPO AKINREFON, CHARLES KUMOLU & GBENGA OKE
LAGOS—OPPOSITION parties and Critics, yesterday, rose stoutly to the
challenge of the Presidency to show evidence of the non-performance of
President Goodluck Jonathan with various segments of the opposition and
civil society rounding up the actions of the administration as the
hallmark of non-performance.
Responding to the challenge thrown by the Senior Special Assistant to
the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, political parties and
civil society groups debunked the claims of progress under Jonathan
made by Okupe on Monday, describing them as delusions.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP was still unsparing of the
opposition, accusing them of fanning the politics of deceit
characterised by the spread of lies and innuendos calculated to deceive
the unwary.
The PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh cited as an
example of the opposition’s use of deceit, recent claims by the Action
Congress of Nigeria, ACN and the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC
that the Federal Capital Territory Administration budgeted N7 billion
for the construction of two Abuja City Gates; N5 billion for the
rehabilitation of commercial sex workers and N4 billion for the
construction of First Lady’s Office.
Dr. Okupe had on Monday rebutted charges of incompetence and
cluelessness that have been repeatedly thrown at the doorsteps of the
Jonathan administration. While citing several landmark achievements of
the administration, Okupe had dared the opposition to produce evidence
of the alleged incompetence of the administration or forever keep quiet.
Opposition responds
Yesterday, the opposition reacted with fury, with the ACN, CPC, the
Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, the Save Nigeria Group,
SNG, Afenifere among others responding.
Eminent Nigerians including second republic governors of Kaduna
State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and Alhaji Lawal Kaita, fiery Second
Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed; Third Republic governor of
Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife and civil right activist, Bamidele
Aturu also responded to the issue in separate interviews with Vanguard.
The ACN in its response described incompetence, cluelessness and
inconsistency as the hallmark of the Jonathan Administration against the
suggestions of progress by Okupe who the party accused of trying to
pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians through a pedestrian play on
semantics.
ACN replies Okupe
The party in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also slammed Okupe for seeking to blame the
opposition for the failure of the Jonathan Administration to make a
positive impact on the lives of Nigerians, saying the likes of Okupe,
rather than the opposition, have contributed in no small measure to the
Administration’s low esteem in the eyes of Nigerians.
“There is no point rummaging through the dictionary to define
incompetence, as Okupe has done in his rambling statement. All one needs
to do to understand is to look at the waffling Jonathan
Administration,” the ACN said.
CENTENARY—From
right: Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon; former President Shehu
Shagari; former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar and President
Goodluck Jonathan at the Nigeria Centenary flag-off ceremony in Abuja,
Monday.
“Touting President Goodluck Jonathan’s impressive academic
qualifications is also very cheap, as they have not proven to be an
asset in the way and manner the President has steered the affairs of his
Administration, especially his articulation of his government’s
policies and the projection of its ability. In any case, while a
Doctorate Degree in any field is something to be celebrated, it is not a
pre-requisite for being a good leader,” the party said.
ACN said the country was being bogged down by corruption, insecurity,
policy flip-flops, absence of governance and downright lies that have
estranged the citizens and erased their trust in government.
“No Administration in our recent history has been more a hotbed of
corruption than the Jonathan Administration, whether it is the fuel
subsidy scam or the police pension scam, just to mention two. Even when a
feeble attempt is made to prosecute those behind the scams, the majesty
of the law is rubbished by prosecution that ensures that convicted
persons get only a slap on the wrist. Under the Jonathan Administration,
the more money you steal, the less punishment you receive!
“While a security crisis of the scale perpetrated by Boko Haram may
be unprecedented in our country, equally unfathomable is the
government’s inability to rise to the occasion, to such an extent that
even the President admits that his administration has been infiltrated
by Boko Haram members!”
CPC, CNPP react
The CPC in its reaction articulated through its National Publicity
Secretary, Engr. Rotimi Fashikin said: “What greater evidence can you
have than the huge insecurity that Nigerians have had to cope with in
the last 18 months? What about the rising spate of humongous corruption –
never known in the nation’s history- currently under the president’s
watch? How about the profligacy of the regime without cognisance of the
parlous state of the nation’s infrastructure? Without doubt, Dr Okupe is
being rehabilitated by this appointment, which explains why he is ready
to mendaciously spin even when (in all good conscience) the spewing
from him is not supportable by the reality in the land.”
The CNPP in its reaction articulated by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Osita Okechukwu said:
“We were taught in primary physics that if there is no distance covered
no work done. Where is the distance covered by Jonathan in the midst of
pervasive corruption, gross unemployment and collapse of critical
infrastructure? Which of the promises made during the election has been
fulfilled or attempt made to execute? Is it the new refineries, Second
Niger Bridge or Mambilla Power or Coal Power Stations?”
His non-performance is written all over —SNG
The SNG, the group that championed the enthronement of Dr. Jonathan
as acting president in the wake of the political malaise arising from
the ill-health of late President Umaru Yar‘Adua in its reaction said:
“The non-performance of the president is written all over the landscape
of Nigeria.”
In its reaction articulated by its spokesperson, Mr Yinka Odumakin
the group said mockingly: “We can see it in the way the Boko Haram
militants have been dealt with, that today everybody feels safe and
secure. We have seen how kidnappers have been chased into their holes
and we can see how all our roads and infrastructure have been fixed. We
have seen how we have uninterrupted power supply in the country today.”
While faulting the presidency over the yardsticks used in measuring
the president’s performance, Odumakin said: “So, these are the
measurements of the president’s performance which Dr Okupe is
celebrating; and through his performance, Nigeria is now an eldorado
where all our embassies throughout the world are being flooded with
foreigners who want to come to Nigeria to see the good things happening
in Nigeria? The performance we are talking about is only visible to the
Okupes, the Abatis and Makus who surround the president but to the
people of Nigeria, they are yet to see that competence which they are
celebrating”.
There are many lapses —Afenifere
On his part, National Leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political
organisation, Afenifere, Chief Rueben Fasoranti said: “Whether he is
competent or not, there are many lapses no doubt. But he has to brace up
and have a new focus. There are so many things that need attention. The
Boko Haram menace is a problem that he has to face frontally, he has to
consult other great powers to give him ideas because the thing is
becoming more problematic. That should be a priority. Then the problem
of unemployment is growing by the day; also power supply without which
you cannot progress, we cannot improve and we cannot develop. These are
some of the things he has to tackle apart from indiscipline all over the
place.”
Not even Okupe’s children believe him — Aturu
Aturu in his reaction told Vanguard yesterday:
“Honestly, I feel that Dr Doyin Okupe is an elderly Nigerian and
deserves our respect, but on this one, I think he is just on a wild
goose chase.
“He himself knows if he wants to speak the honest truth to his
children and grandchildren that there is evidence of non-performance all
around us. When you talk about a government that cannot even point to a
singular achievement what other evidence do you need that the
government is not performing? I am surprised that he would be saying
that….I think he should be fair to us and to his children and
grandchildren.”
Our problems persist —Balarabe Musa
Also, Second Republic governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa
asserted that “the president is not performing because he has not solved
the problems he promised to solve. He has not solved any one of them
and aside that, the problems are still increasing. Now we have Niger
Delta militants coming back to war, while we are still trying to have a
dialogue with Boko Haram. Unemployment is rampant everywhere as we have
up to 20 million post-secondary graduates in Nigeria. The president
himself said all public institutions have collapsed. So, in what area
can he show progress? Certainly there is no progress.”
His advisers are incompetent —Lawal Kaita
Another former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Lawal Kaita said it
would be difficult for anyone to honestly judge the president as
competent in the light of the situation in the country.
“In view of the prevailing situation in the country, it will be
difficult for anybody to say that he is performing. His advisers are
incompetent for saying that, because nothing is working the normal way
in the country, how can anyone say that he is competent in view of what
the nation is passing through now. The president should improve.”
We expect him to perform
— Ezeife
Also, former governor of Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife
said: “We chose him by voting him into office, so we expect him to
perform. If you consider the kind of challenges before him, it would be
enough to make the person run away, but as people who elected him, we
expect him to perform.”
Jonathan has nothing to show —Junaid Mohammed
Second Republic lawmaker, Dr Junaid Mohammed on his part said: “For
me, you cannot assess a politician on the basis of what he wants to do
but so far, this administration led by Jonathan has nothing to show. If
you put together all parameters of a democratic elected government, you
will realize that this administration is no where to be found.”
“In the area of maintenance of law and order, this government has failed
the people because Nigeria today is not at peace and the insecurity
problems seem to have gone everywhere.
“In terms of economic achievements, he has achieved nothing as well
because the economic indices points to the fact that nothing has changed
since he assumed office.”
PDP charges ACN, CPC of deceit
The PDP was, however, still unsparing of the president’s critics
describing them as deceitful and unbalanced in their assessment of the
presidency. The party in a statement issued by its national publicity
secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh cited as an example of the opposition’s use
of deceit the allegation that the Federal Capital Territory
Administration (FCTA) budgeted N7 billion for the construction of two
Abuja City Gates; N5 billion for the rehabilitation of commercial sex
workers and N4 billion for the construction of First Lady’s Office. The
PDP also accused the ACN and CPC of falsely claiming that the FCTA
padded the budget for the construction of the Vice President’s official
residence.
“It is however clear that this coalition of disparate forces are at
their usual homage to deceit and bare-faced lies aimed first at
misleading Nigerians and whipping up public anger against the PDP. It is
unfortunate that the leadership of these political parties among whom
are elders whose ‘silver hairs’ we thought, would avail the nation
virtues to paraphrase Shakespeare in Julius Caesar, have turned to
merchants of cheap lies in an attempt to slur the integrity of our
leadership of the nation.
“For the avoidance of doubt,” the statement continued, “there is no
provision for the construction of the Abuja City Gate in the FCT 2013
budget and there is nowhere the FCT earmarked N5 billion for the
rehabilitation of commercial sex workers in the said budget. We
challenge the parties to prove us wrong.”
Vanguard
