The Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, has described the comments credited to the National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on the visit of Jonathan to Lagos on Thursday as irresponsible.
Mohammed had said that Jonathan’s trip to Lagos was timed to coincide with the National Convention of his party so as to frustrate the merger plan with other parties.
Mohammed thus called on the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, to prevail on Jonathan to reschedule his trip or go to the venue of his event by chopper to prevent traffic gridlock that could be frustrating to members of his party.
But Okupe in reaction to the statement, said Mohammed was irresponsible for insinuating Jonathan was out to frustrate ACN’s merger with the Congress for Progressive Change, the All Progressives Grand Alliance and the All Nigeria Peoples Party.
The four parties are looking at merging to become the All Progressives Congress.
Okupe said in his statement: “Our attention has been drawn to the unfortunate and irresponsible comments of Alhaji Lai Mohammed, National Publicity Secretary of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in respect of President Goodluck Jonathan’s impending visit to Lagos.
“Lai Mohammed is obviously misguided and mischievous in his disposition. It is difficult to understand or explain how he expects Governor Babatunde Fashola to control or obstruct the movement of President Jonathan, the President and Commander -in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It is obvious that Alhaji Lai Mohammed does not have the least of understanding of the workings of government or official protocol. The insult to the president of the nation who is the symbol of our collective sovereignty as contained in his letter to Governor Fashola is obviously a product of a warped mind that is equally evil and un-progressive.
“We have always known that Alhaji Mohammed is not fit to be a national officer of a decent political party as evinced by the outbursts and vituperations that emit from his shallow mind.
“We know for a fact that Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola is of higher breed with proper upbringing and will not descend to the level of debased political wretchedness to which Alhaji Mohammed belongs.
“We wish to state categorically that the President’s visit to Lagos cannot in any way affect the proceedings of the ACN convention or its proposed merger with other parties.
“Such thinking can only come from a mind intent on making mischief and raising false alarm as usual just in order to score cheap political points and heat up the polity unnecessarily.
“Nigerians must now know Alhaji Mohammed for what he is: a confusionist, scaremonger and a debased politician with a belly full of deceit, mischief and treachery.”
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