The Presidency has described the criticism of the First Lady, Dame
Patience Jonathan, by the All Progressives Congress as politics taken
too far.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Presidency said the celebration of
the achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan by his wife and the
National Council of Women Societies does not deserve the position
taken by the APC.
Describing the achievements of the Jonathan administration as
unprecedented, the statement said there was nothing wrong in the rally
put together by Dame Jonathan.
The APC had said the rally, which practically paralyzed Abuja, the
nation’s seat of power, amounted to a campaign.
The party thus called on the Independent National Electoral Commission
to sanction the Peoples Democratic Party, the platform on which
Jonathan was elected, for commencing campaign for the 2015 elections
in disguise in contravention of the rules.
But the statement by the Presidency faulted the position of the APC.
The statement reads: “On Thursday, 15 August, 2013, the First Lady in
conjunction with the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS)
acknowledged the role of women in the peace initiatives of Government
and celebrated the unprecedented attainment of highly-visible
positions at all levels being occupied by women in the administration
of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. But instead of celebrating with
the women, the interim National Publicity Secretary, of APC, Alhaji
Lai Mohammed, not only dampened the mood of the women with the
insinuation that there is nothing to celebrate but went on to accuse
the First Lady of starting an early campaign for the 2015 presidential
elections.
Hear him: “While one of the PDP gong-bearer, Okupe, was telling
Nigerians that President Jonathan has not informed anyone that he will
contest in 2015, his wife was coercing hundreds of hapless women,
including those in uniform, into a show of shame tagged a “Peace
Rally”, but in essence a campaign for President Jonathan ahead of
2015”. He then called on the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) to sanction anyone responsible for the event.
For the records, let’s examine the ‘shameful’ show the First Lady is accused of.
According to Mohammed, it is ‘shameful’ for Mr. President to have
fulfilled the 35% representation in his cabinet he promised the women
during his 2011 electioneering campaign. The 13 women ministers in the
42-man cabinet are holding sensitive ministries like Finance,
Petroleum, Aviation, Information Communication Technology, Defence,
Power, Foreign Affairs among others. To Lai, it is ‘shameful’ for the
women to celebrate the elevation of one of them as head of the
Judiciary arm of Government and the first female Chief Justice of
Nigeria by President Jonathan and approved by the Senate. It is
‘shameful’ for the women to celebrate the unprecedented appointments
of women permanent secretaries both at the Federal and State levels.
It is ‘shameful’ to jubilate about the elections of higher number of
women in the Senate, House of Representatives and the various States
Houses of Assembly. According to Lai, all these and many more are
‘shameful’ acts that are not worth celebrating. The Nigerian women
have never had it so good and they have every reason to roll out the
drums as far as many of us are concerned. I am sure Nigerian women are
waiting for him and his party at the polls to show their displeasure
at being disparaged when the time comes.
Talking about the early campaign for 2015, can Alhaji la Mohammed
extract any political statement uttered by the First Lady at the
rally? As everybody knows by now, the First Lady used the occasion to
call on the Legislature to insert in the Nigerian Constitution the 35%
affirmative action for women which will then compel any administration
to adhere to this provision and free the women from the discretion,
pleasure or otherwise of successive Presidents. Would that not be a
lasting legacy if passed by the National Assembly? That is what Lai
calls campaigning and wants INEC to sanction the First Lady for that.
If there is any group that should be sanctioned, it is Lai Mohammed
and his party because they have refused to stop campaigning since the
end of the 2011 elections. The defunct ACN, CPC and ANPP tried to
hoodwink Nigerians by staging rallies round the whole country in the
name of a so-called consultation on merger. That took forever. Now
that INEC has approved the merger into APC another round of campaign
is going on right now in the country under the guise of launching the
party. Rallies have been held in Ibadan, Abeokuta and Lafia, where
President Jonathan administration is being lampooned and vilified. APC
posters adorn the streets of Lagos and major capitals in the country
with messages like ‘change’. Every day the media is awashed with what
the APC calls its manifesto. If this is not campaigning, I beg Lai
Mohammed, what is it? Who is fooling who?
Mohammed said 2015 will be issue-based. This is a challenge PDP is
glad to accept. But it is not what you say that matters because talk
is cheap. It is the facts on the ground that counts. It is
three-months now since President Jonathan published his mid-term
report. Lai Mohammed or any of the other wolf criers have not faulted
the facts contained therein. The report detailed Government’s
achievements on railways, aviation, education (including the almajiri
education), agriculture, power, roads, economy, etc. Because the
report cannot be faulted, instead of commenting on the report and
acknowledge the progress President Jonathan and his team have made in
the last two years, Lai Mohammed and his cohorts continued to
disparage the office and person of Mr. President.
This is one President who has deepened the gains of democracy by
allowing the will of the people to prevail in elections to the
detriment of his party. This is one President that is committed to the
Rule of Law. Lai Mohammmed delights in demonizing the PDP and portrays
APC as the messiah Nigerians have been waiting for. He can continue to
live in fool’s paradise. He and his party will be shocked by Nigerians
in 2015. This is not the time to theorize on this. We will cross that
bridge when we get there.”
The statement was signed by Godwin Akpovie, the Special Assistant,
Political, Office of the Political Adviser to the President.
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