Jumoke Adekanye
All Progressive Party, APC has described President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to declare for his second term ambition a day after the suicide bombing in Pokistum, Yobe State as utterly insensitive and callous.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by the national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, APC said “Since this president has chosen to celebrate a national tragedy, Nigerians should also be ready to celebrate his electoral failure next year, today, the three North-east states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe are in danger of being overrun by Boko Haram insurgents and over 650,000 Nigerians are internally displaced in those states by the insurgency. Yet, President Jonathan says he puts Nigerians first. Lies have never worn a bolder face. The truth is that for President Jonathan, it is Jonathan first, Jonathan second, Jonathan third, Jonathan always!
When about 60 students were killed in the terror attack on the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, in February 2014, President Jonathan never visited the scene to commiserate with the families of the victims.
This president has therefore established a pattern of putting his political interest above the security and welfare of Nigerians who voted him into office. This president has trampled upon the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which makes the security and welfare of the citizenry the raison d’etre of the government’s existence. It is time for Nigerians to respond in kind by trampling on his political ambition and sending him back to Otuoke.”
The party also called the President’s intention to run for second term lack of conscience.
“This is undoubtedly President Jonathan’s biggest and most fundamental failure. At times it goes beyond incompetence to perhaps even collusion, or how else does one explain that the rate and intensity of attacks have increased in the three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe since they were placed under a state of emergency last year?
How does one explain that more lives are being lost to the insurgency at a rate that is directly proportional to the increase in spending on defence and security? From $5.07 billion in 2010 to $7.12 billion in 2014, the Boko Haram insurgency has fuelled increases in security spending to around 25 per cent of annual federal government budget. In light of the rebasing of Nigeria’s (Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (put at N80.3 trillion or $509.9 billion), the yearly average for 2010-14, which is $6.58 billion, is equal to 1.3 per cent of GDP, while the total for the five years budget amounts to 6.5 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP.”
President Goodluck Jonathan had on Tuesday declared his second term ambition as an action taken after he sought the face of God.
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