The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Goodluck
Jonathan to call his aides to order to stop them from overheating the
polity with their incautious statements, especially relating to the
transition of power.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said while the PDP may be
deeply traumatized by its loss in the last general elections – and the
party itself has said it is indeed suffering from ‘post-election
(defeat) trauma’ – that should not be a reason for it to disrupt the
nation’s peace by displaying crab mentality.
It described as provocative and ill-intentioned the statement credited
to the Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Prof.
Rufai Alkali, that the APC should talk less and plan more for the
nation, and that the party (APC) is seeking to stampede the President
out of office.
”Prof. Alkali doesn’t know what he is saying. How does he expect us
to plan when the PDP-led FG has bluntly refused to cooperate with us
in ensuring a successful transition? As we write, the Transition
Committee of the FG has yet to hold a single meeting with our own
Transition Committee, neither have they given us a line of handover
note.
”As a matter of fact, the Jonathan Administration has said the
handover notes will not be ready until the third week of May, meaning
just a week before the handover. What time then do we have to
scrutinize the handover notes? How can we plan when we don’t even know
which projects they have, which ones they have completed and which
ones are outstanding? How can we plan when we don’t even know how many
barrels of oil are sold per day?” APC queried
The party said the fact that Prof. Alkali does not know the difference
between Inauguration Committee and Transition Committee is a
reflection of mediocrity that permeates the Jonathan Administration
and led to its downfall.
”While their Inauguration Committee has been meeting with ours, their
Transitional Committee has yet to even meet with ours. How then can
Prof. Alkali justify his statement that the Jonathan Administration
has been in a ‘transition mode’?
”Is it part of their transition mode that President Jonathan has been
engaged in a rash of feverish last-minute appointments that, though
may not have breached any known law, are patently in bad faith,
morally repugnant and indecorous. They say they are in office until
May 29th, but pray, are appointments the only function of a
government? Are there no problems crying for attention, such as the
intractable fuel scarcity, the worsening power situation, the grounded
economy and the missing Chibok girls?
”Is it part of their transition mode that Jonathan’s Minister of
Power has virtually been reading the riot act to the incoming
government, condescendingly warning it not to even consider reversing
the power sector privatization because its gains are ”very
obvious?”. Do they understand the implication of their gratuitous and
unsolicited advice? If their power sector reforms have been so
successful, would Nigeria’s power situation have hit perhaps its
lowest point in a long long time as we have it now?” it queried.
APC said in as much as the Jonathan Administration is bent on
provoking the incoming Administration, creating confusion and even
sabotaging the transition, the party (APC) has decided not to fall for
their antics in the interest of peace.
The party reiterated its earlier advice to the PDP to shake off the
trauma of defeat and gear up for the challenging task of being in
opposition.
”They must however realize that being in opposition is not a walk in
the park but like running a marathon in the desert where there are no
oases or shades. The sooner they realize that the better for them,”
it said.
