President Goodluck Jonathan’s scheduled visit to
Lagos today has sparked a war of words between the Action Congress of
Nigeria and the Presidency.
Jonathan is expected to arrive in Lagos on
Thursday (today) en route to Ibafo in Ogun State where he will
inaugurate WEMPCO’s Cold Roll Steel Plant.
But the ACN said on Wednesday
that the visit was primarily aimed at scuttling its
national convention today at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos. The
Presidency however described the allegation as baseless and another in the
series of “wolf crying” that has become the ACN trait.
The party, in a letter to the Lagos State
Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), said Jonathan’s visit might lead to the
closure of roads in the city, thus preventing its supporters across
the country from coming for the convention.
In the letter by its National
Publicity Secretary and member of its national convention planning committee,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the ACN said the convention was meant to afford its
members the opportunity to discuss the merger plan by opposition parties.
It said it feared that inability of its members
to access the venue of the convention could lead to “a breach of the
peace, the consequences of which no one will be able to fathom.”
The party therefore urged Fashola to
advise Jonathan to either reschedule his visit or use a mode of
intra-city transport, like a helicopter if he must go ahead with
the visit.
The ACN letter reads, “We are
concerned that based on precedent, the visit of the President may lead to the
closures of key arterial roads in the city, which could prevent thousands
of our supporters coming to Lagos from all parts of the federation from making
it to the venue of the convention.
“In particular, the timing of the
President’s visit and the attendant disruption of traffic in Lagos may be seen
as a continuation of perceived attempts by the Peoples Democratic Party -led
Federal Government to frustrate the merger of our party with other progressive
parties, which is a key item on the agenda of our national convention on
Thursday.
“We are, therefore, appealing to your Excellency
(Fashola) to use your good offices to advise the President to either reschedule
his visit or use a mode of intra-city transportation, like a helicopter, that
will not engender closure of roads on a very busy day in the city.”
The party said that the President would not want
to subject Nigerians to “avoidable suffering just because of a visit that can
either be rescheduled or carried out in an unobstructive manner on a
gridlock-prone city.”
But the Presidency faulted the ACN claim, saying
that Jonathan’s visit which was scheduled long ago would have no
effect on the ACN convention.
Special Adviser to the President on Media
and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said a courteous check from the appropriate
Presidency officials would have revealed to the ACN that the
President was not visiting Lagos.
Abati explained in a statement
made available to journalists in Abuja, that his boss would
only touch down at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport in
Ikeja, transit to Ibafo by a chopper and return to the
airport the same way for his flight back to Abuja.
He said, “We find it hard to believe that
any patriotic and right-thinking Nigerian would have written the kind of
publicly circulated letter reportedly sent to the governor of Lagos
State by Alhaji Mohammed in which he attempts to dictate
President Jonathan’s itinerary, mode of transportation within Lagos, and
motive, and even suggests that the President’s visit could have been
designed to frustrate a planned ACN convention and merger with some other
political parties.
“The allegation is not only baseless, but another
in the series of ‘wolf crying’ that has become the sole strategy and
pre-occupation of the ACN. It is clearly a deliberate, further attempt to
undermine, ridicule and debase the office of the President.
“It is certain that Governor Fashola was already
aware of President Jonathan’s itinerary in Lagos tomorrow(today) since in
keeping with protocol, the Presidency always briefs state governments well
ahead of time on all Presidential movements to their states. Alhaji Lai
Mohammed’s letter was therefore pointless and serves no purpose other than
distasteful muck-raking.
“Furthermore, the Presidency completely rejects
the insinuation in the deliberately leaked letter that the President’s visits
to Lagos are always disruptive. The paranoia displayed by the ACN in its plea
to Governor Fashola concerning an imaginary plan to scuttle a political merger
is beneath the politics of inclusiveness this administration has encouraged in
its interaction with the state, as with all other states.
“We have no doubts whatsoever therefore that
Governor Fashola will prove to be much wiser and more mature than the ACN
spokesman, and consign his letter to the dustbin.”
Also, the Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, carpeted Muhammed, saying he did
not have the least understanding of the workings of government.
“ I find it difficult to explain how Alhaji
Mohammed expects Gov. Fashola to control or obstruct the movement of the
President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The insult contained in his letter to Gov.
Fashola is a product of a confused politician.
“We know for a fact that Gov. Fashola is of a
different and higher breed with proper upbringing. Nigerians must now know
Alhaji Mohammed for what he truly is—a scare-monger .”
Source : Punch
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