President Jonathan has responded to the accusations made by former Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, alleging that the President has declared war on Nigeria.
President Goodluck Jonathan in a statement by his spokesperson, Reuben Abati,
described Gen. Buhari’s statement as ‘uncharitable and unwarranted,
while advising Buhari not to blame him for his party’s woes.
Read full statement below:
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
DON’T BLAME ME FOR YOUR PARTY’S SELF-INFLICTED WOES – PRESIDENT JONATHAN TELLS BUHARI
We have noted with much surprise and regret, the statement issued by
General Muhammadu Buhari today in which he made some wild and totally
unsustainable allegations against President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
Although he tries very hard to deny it in the statement titled “Pull Nigeria
Back From the Brink”, there can be no doubt that General Buhari has
sadly moved away from the patriotic and statesmanlike position he
recently adopted on national security, which President Jonathan publicly commended, and has now reverted to unbridled political partisanship.
There can be no other explanation or justification for the completely
unwarranted and very uncharitable assault on the conduct and integrity
of President Jonathan which the statement he issued today represents.
General Buhari’s main grouse which clearly motivated his
ill-considered statement appears to be what he called “the gale of
impeachments or the utilisation of desperate tactics to suffocate the
opposition and turn Nigeria into a one-party state”.
It is most unfortunate that instead of working to put their house in
order and resolve the leadership crises and internal contradictions that
have plunged their party into a downward spiral, General Buhari and his
opposition allies have resorted to blaming a blameless President for
their woes.
The processes for impeaching an elected Governor are clearly
stipulated in the National Constitution which Nigeria has operated since
1999. The President of Nigeria is not assigned any role in that process
and President Jonathan has certainly not played any role in the recent impeachment of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa or in the impeachment drama currently being played out in Nasarawa State.
For the record, President remains fully committed to upholding the
letters, principles and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution as he has
sworn, and defending the rule of law and integrity of the democratic
process with all his might.
General Buhari talks about anarchy. He needs to be reminded that
President Jonathan from his humble beginnings as a Deputy Governor in
Bayelsa state to date, has never in his acts, or utterances, recommended
or promoted violence as a tool of political negotiation.
Contrary to whatever General Buhari and his new friends may imagine,
President Jonathan fully respects the rights, powers, authority and
independence of elected representatives of the people, including the
members of the state assemblies who have concluded or initiated
impeachment proceedings against their state governors on grounds which
they consider justifiable.
The constitution does not give the President any power to intervene
in such proceedings and President Jonathan has never arrogated such
powers to himself or sought to exert any nefarious and unconstitutional
influence on state assemblies in Adamawa, Nasarawa or anywhere else in
other to secure undue political advantage for his party as General
Buhari unjustifiably alleges.
President Jonathan remains true to his declaration that no political
ambition of his is worth the life of a single Nigerian. The President
has definitely not declared war on his own country or deployed federal
institutions in the service of partisan interests as General Buhari
falsely claims. Neither has he been using the common wealth to subvert
the system and punish the opposition, as the former Head of State
inexcusably asserts.
Also, President Jonathan has never at any time ordered that any
Nigerian should be kidnapped or that anyone should be crated and
forcefully transported in violation of decent norms of governance.
We therefore urge General Buhari to tarry a while, ponder over his
own antecedents and do a reality check as to whether he has the moral
right to be so carelessly sanctimonious.
It may well be time to pull the brakes, as General Buhari says in his
statement, but it is he and others who have resorted to idle
scapegoating and blaming President Jonathan for their self-inflected
political troubles who need to stop their inexcusable partisanship and
show greater regard for the truth, democracy, constitutionalism, the
rule of law, peace, security and the well-being of the nation.
Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
July 21, 2014
It was reported yesterday, July 21 that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) said President Goodluck Jonathan has declared war on Nigeria while accusing the leader of the country of punishing the opposition party, APC.
Buhari said: "Never before have I seen a Nigerian President
utilize the common wealth to subvert the system and punish the
opposition, all in the name of politics. Our nation has suffered serious
consequences in the past for egregious acts that are not even close to
what we are seeing now. It is time to pull the brakes.”
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