Jonathan’s performance poor, say APC leaders

Jonathan’s performance poor, say APC leaders

Opposition leaders launched yesterday a blistering criticism of President Goodluck Jonathan’s speech at his declaration to run for a second term.
The sixth anniversary of the administration of Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole in Benin City provided the platform for the opposition politicians to gather and react to Tuesday’s presidential speech.
At the ceremony were party chair Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, House Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Mr. Audu Ogbeh.
Also there were ex-governors Adeniyi Adebayo (Ekiti), Segun Oni (Ekiti), Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa) and Alhaji Lai Mohammed, among several others.
The huge rally was held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City.
Ogbeh berated President Jonathan for the loss of Mubi, Adamawa State’s commercial town to Boko Haram, saying there is no law recognising the need for special forces to fight the insurgents.
Ogbeh noted that it was worrisome that the Army that has built a reputation for strength and discipline for over 60 years was retreating from Boko Haram.
He said the fate of the army was brought about by incompetence and corruption under the PDP government.
Said Ogbeh: “That statement from Jonathan to deploy special forces to fight Boko Haram sounded to me like the funeral oration for the Nigeria military because we know that the Nigeria military before now was a powerful force. We are asking all of you to think. 2015 is near. If you believe everything they said, you may as well believe that you will find ice block in hell fire.
“Let people speak the truth and not deceive us. Four weeks ago, we were told that a truce had been brokered between the insurgents and the Nigeria Government, but now we know it was a well packaged lie to Nigerians because there was going to be a rally. If people in government keep lying to you and asking you to support them; you will be digging your own grave by supporting them. I left the PDP because they were turning it into a mafia.”
Tambuwal also gave insights into why he dumped the PDP for the APC.
According to him, the system of governance at the centre is already malfunctioning.
“We have accepted to join the movement of progressives to change the system. The system today is malfunctioning and has failed in several ways.
“You have to change a system that is not working. We have a cabal that has hijacked the instrument of authority. We should vote them out in February. What do the people of the South South have to show for voting the President? Nothing.”
The Speaker said President Jonathan’s Transformation of Nigeria (TAN) is populated by economic saboteurs who want to protect their wealth.
He asked people in TAN to settle their debts with the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
Tambuwal warned Nigerians, especially those from the Southsouth, against voting for leaders based on sentiments, adding that Nigeria needs a good leader who would not be elected on sentiments.
The Speaker said Nigerians were deceived to vote for President Jonathan based on certain sentiments.
Atiku urged the people to ensure victory for APC in next year’s general election.
He noted that true transformation could be felt and seen in Edo.
“Transformation is on ground in Edo but not the kind of transformation that the PDP is doing on television. Come to Edo to feel and see how real transformation is happening. You will see true transformation in all APC states. There is nothing in PDP states. You only see propaganda. Let us make sure that APC is brought back to the country.”
Asiwaju Tinubu, reiterated his call for President Jonathan to resign for the fall of Mubi in Adamawa State.
Tinubu, who faulted the trial of some soldiers for alleged mutiny, noted that no leadership would sit down and watch any part of its territory taken away by insurgents.
He said, “You round soldiers up and say you want to execute them. Did they give them weapons to fight? If a military barracks with weapons could be abandoned by soldiers, who did they leave the weapons for ? And you say you don’t know them and want to run again.
“President Jonathan should resign. We will sweep the PDP away. We will show them that the power of the people is greater than the barrel of their guns. Democratic power is not obtained easily. You have to be ready with your votes and sacrifice that day for your freedom.”
Tinubu, who described the PDP as Poverty Development Party, said the APC would use surgery to separate the PDP from INEC and lamented the reduction of voters in Lagos to 4.8m from an initial 6.2m.
To Odigie-Oyegun, Nigeria is being destroyed by a totally” clueless” PDP.
He alleged that Mubi, next to the hometown of Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, was taken without a single shot being fired. “The insurgents just walked into Mubi. It seems there was no attempt to secure Mubi.”
Oshiomhole, who described SURE-P as SURE-Fraud, said it was the highest level of corruption to use individuals rather than institution to distribute public funds.
Oshiomhole, who reminisced on the state of Edo before the advent of his administration, said he started by fighting against election rigging and ballot snatching and dealt with flooding by taking a holistic approach.
He said his administration built roads and infrastructure to fight election rigging.
Oshiomhole warned President Jonathan against militarising Edo during elections, saying the state is not an enemy territory to be targeted by the armed forces.
He said: “We will not fall to the PDP. APC will defeat the president in Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River and Delta states. We will continue to bury the PDP in Edo State. The score card of the PDP in Edo for 16 years is the resurfacing of the Ofosu-Benin express road. It is an old dual carriage way built by the military many years ago.
“Let the President show us the 96 per cent contribution of development he has brought to Edo. What we get is the PDP appropriating federal money in the name of SURE-P, which is SURE-Fraud, to a former deputy governor that was rigged into office. He is the one they put public fund in his hand to be paying PDP thugs.
“We will not vote on the basis of tribalism. We will vote for the party that can give us power. As long as PDP is in power, Nigerian people will be out of power. They can spend $100bn, you will not have power; it will only power their pockets. The privatisation was given to people who have no knowledge of power. If you want to remain in darkness, vote for them.
“If you want power, vote for change. We can never be intimidated. Those boasting that they will rig the election will rig and govern Nigeria with a stolen mandate. Any attempt to misuse the armed forces to rig election will be fire for fire. We will stand as soldiers of democracy. We will stand as Nigerians who cannot be defeated.”
Fashola, who spoke in Lagos, lamented that the country handed over intact to President Jonathan’s administration had degenerated, so much that some parts of it have fallen into the hands of the insurgents.
He said: “They enjoy making promises they cannot keep. You have heard promises about security, not so? Promises made four years ago. But, we handed them the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with all its component parts intact and we are back four years after with some parts of Nigeria already taken away from them and they are saying the next four years will be better.”
The governor advised Nigerians to be wary of politicians who come to them during electoral period to make superficial promises, urging the electorate to critically assess the track records of the politicians and their political parties before deciding for them.
“It is election time and they will start coming with vote catching promises, but they have never kept their promises,” Fashola said.