The presidency has called for deeper respect for the Office of the President as well as the person of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan from the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), describing as “clearly unhealthy politics, and completely tactless” its behavior in that regard.
The presidency has called for deeper respect for the Office of the President as well as the person of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan from the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), describing as “clearly unhealthy politics, and completely tactless” its behavior in that regard.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
The remarks were contained in a statement by the spokesman of the president, Dr. Reuben Abati, in a reaction to comments by the National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. The ACN chieftain had responded to the claim by Mr. Jonathan that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is the only truly democratic party in Nigeria.
The spokesman challenged Mohammed’s call upon the president yesterday "to take a long, hard look at himself in the mirror if he truly wants to see the face of a party leader who is fast turning his party into a one-man show."
Said Abati: “It is Mohammed who needs to take a long, hard look at himself in the mirror and ask whether his party is truly a democratic party.”
He seemed particularly offended by Mohammed’s characterization of President Jonathan as failing to "show deep introspection in his public comments;" of "rushing to exhibit soap-box mentality" and calling him "highly partisan and easily excitable.”
The spokesman said, “President Jonathan is a humble gentleman who has shown his value at moments of deep crisis as a loyal and thoughtful leader. Recall his measured response and handling of the constitutional crisis in 2010. Far from being excitable, Jonathan has handled unprecedented attacks on his character and Presidency with dignity and humour.”
Abati further described Jonathan as a “highly experienced, scholarly and non-partisan” President for whom only national interests have dictated governance policies, choice of states to visit and events to attend.
“President Jonathan's description of the PDP as the only truly democratic party should be seen as a wake-up call to other political parties, as well as political leaders, to live out their democratic pretensions in the full glare of the public,” Abati said. “Is it not public knowledge that some political parties, despite preaching democracy, lack internal democracy and thrive in imposing candidates? Indeed, we have seen a dominant culture whereby wives, children, in-laws and other family members emerge as candidates without credible primaries in the same political parties that the President complained about.”
The spokesman reminded Mohammed that the ACN's culture of “throwing abusive and disparaging comments” is getting out of control, stressing that even in the South West where the ACN claims to run the show, the party’s intolerance seems to have heightened after recent losses in some states of the region causing the true character of its leaders to emerge under pressure.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });