All Progressives Congress (APC): APC calls endorsement of Jonathan as sole PDP cand...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC calls endorsement of Jonathan as sole PDP cand...: The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly condemned the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan as the sole candidate of the PD...

APC calls endorsement of Jonathan as sole PDP candidate mockery of democracy

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly condemned the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan as the sole candidate of the PDP for next year's presidential election, to the exclusion of all other candidates, calling the endorsement nothing but a mockery of democracy.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also said the endorsement has come at a great price to Nigerians, considering the obvious deals that were struck to make President Jonathan the sole PDP candidate.

It said the parody of democracy that the endorsement represents has exposed the shameless hypocrisy of the PDP, which is ever so eager to accuse other parties of lacking in internal democracy.

''Obviously, those fellows in the PDP have never heard of the saying that those who must come to equity must come with clean hands. PDP, where is your own internal democracy now that you have turned your party into a fiefdom controlled by one and only one person only?

''While endorsements are part and parcel of democracy, they are never done to the exclusion of other candidates. This is simply not democratic. When then candidate Barrack Obama was endorsed by his
party's bigwigs to contest the US Presidency, the party never excluded Hillary Clinton from its primaries. That's how it is done,'' APC said.

The party said the price being paid for Jonathan's endorsement by Nigeria is simply too heavy, considering that the PDP Governors who spearheaded the endorsement have now secured perpetual immunity from prosecution by anti-graft bodies, including the EFCC and the ICPC; the
automatic tickets for all first-term PDP Governors, whether or not they have performed, the automatic tickets for all PDP Governors running for the Senate, as well as the free ride back to the Upper Chamber for Senate President David Mark.

''It is now an Open Sesame for the PDP Governors, who have no prying anti-corruption agencies watching over their shoulders. They can now simply see the commonwealth as an extension of their deep pockets. The endorsement is also a vote of approval for the proceeds of corruption that have been powering the noisy and outrageous Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN),'' it said.

APC accused President Jonathan of desecrating the country's democracy because of his desperation for re-election, adding: ''It is a cruel irony that a man who has benefited, more than anyone else, from this democracy has been the one who has been doing everything possible to undermine it.''

The party said President Jonathan has also abandoned domestic issues while seeking international relevance, in a clear negation of the aphorism that charity begins at home.

''This President has basically abandoned governance. Unprecedented corruption is mounting, insecurity stalks the land and Nigerians grope in darkness as power generation has plummeted. This President has yet to tell Nigerians the full involvement of his government in the 9.3 million dollars that was illegally ferried to South Africa on a private jet. This President has yet to tell Nigerians why he has continued to hobnob with an alleged sponsor of Boko Haram, who is supposed to be under a probe by his Administration. Yet, he is eager to attend meetings with serious-minded leaders who have done well for their own people.

''Mr. President, it is only when you have achieved success domestically that you can parade yourself internationally. You cannot look good abroad if you look ugly at home,'' APC said.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed
National Publicity Secretary
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Lagos, Sept. 24th 2014

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC warns against plan to postpone 2015 general el...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC warns against plan to postpone 2015 general el...: The All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned those nursing the plan to postpone the 2015 general elections to perish the thought, s...

APC warns against plan to postpone 2015 general elections

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned those nursing the plan to postpone the 2015 general elections to perish the thought, saying Nigerians will not accept, under any guise whatsoever, any scheme by desperate elected officials to get tenure elongation by subterfuge

In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said those who are flying the kite of pushing forward the election ostensibly because the nation is at war are trying to imperil the nation's democracy.

''Election is the lifeblood of democracy, the mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates. It is the only way for the citizenry to renew and refresh the governing process so they can get the most benefits out of democracy. Therefore, anyone that tries to sabotage this mechanism is aiming a dagger straight at the heart of democracy,'' it said.

APC said the statement credited to Senate President David Mark, that ''there is no question of elections, it is not even on the table now. We are in a state of war,” reflects the thinking in government circles, even though the Senate President, having run into a wall of opposition over his unfortunate statement, has tried to step back from the comments.

''We in the APC saw this coming, and we have said it at several fora: That the Jonathan Administration has deliberately allowed the insurgency in the North-east, an opposition stronghold, to fester so he can cash in on it to get re-elected. Simply put, the Administration has been playing dirty politics with Boko Haram, at the expense of the lives and property of the citizenry and the well-being of the nation.

''However, the Administration is being too clever by half to think that Nigerians will reward it for its failure in its main reason for existence, which is the protection of the welfare and security of the citizens. There is just no way this government will be allowed to profit from its ineptness and its conspiracy to prolong an insurgency that should have ended a long time ago,'' the party said.

It said the statement by INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega, that the commission has started preparing for elections even in the North-east, represents a ray of hope, but warned the electoral body to remain steadfast and not to cave in to what will be massive pressure from the Jonathan Administration and its gong beaters to scuttle the 2015 elections.

APC said just like Jega has said, countries like Afghanistan and Iraq successfully held elections even though they are in a state of war, hence there is no reason why Nigeria cannot organize elections because of the insurgency in a part of the country.

''We know the Jonathan Administration is mortally afraid to face the electorate, having failed woefully to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people. We know many elected officials are also aware that they will be punished by the electorate because they have failed them (the electorate). It is therefore easy for them to queue behind any plot to ensure the 2015 general elections do not hold as planned, so they can get tenure extension.

''However, we have got news for these saboteurs: Nigerians have seen through their game and will not allow them to succeed in endangering our democracy. 2015 elections must hold as scheduled. This is not negotiable,'' the party warned.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed 

National Publicity Secretary,

All Progressives Congress (APC)

Lagos, Sept 21st 2014

All Progressives Congress (APC): President Jonathan, please come clean on the US$9....

All Progressives Congress (APC): President Jonathan, please come clean on the US$9....: The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to come clean on the circumstances surrounding the 9.3 milli...

President Jonathan, please come clean on the US$9.3m controversy - APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to come clean on the circumstances surrounding the 9.3 million US dollars that was impounded in South Africa, which has become the latest in a series of global ridicule to which the scandal-prone Jonathan Administration has subjected Nigeria and her people.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also called on the National Assembly to launch an urgent investigation into the issue, saying the silence of the peoples' representatives on the issue is deafening, unfathomable and unacceptable.

It said there is no doubt that the President is at the centre of the whole issue, considering the presidential treatment given to the plane and its cargo, since the plane departed from the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, away from the reach of the Nigerian Customs Service which could not therefore have cleared the plane and its passengers.

''It is absolutely urgent for President Jonathan to clear the air on this alleged off-the-shelf equipment or arms purchase, which runs against all known protocol for such purchases anywhere in the world. Military equipment and weapons are not bean cakes to be purchased by the road side. There are globally-acceptable protocols for such purchases by governments, otherwise what differentiates a government from an insurgent group that is shopping for arms?

''Is the Jonathan Administration not aware that the UN General Assembly on April 2nd 2013 adopted a landmark Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) precisely to regulate the international trade in conventional weapons by avoiding the kind of road-side purchase that the Nigerian government is said to have been involved in? Though the ATT has not come into effect, the fact that Nigeria is among the few countries to have signed and ratified the treaty shows that the country is concerned by unregulated arms trade,'' APC said.

The party said the resort to ''procedural error'' to explain away the whole issue cannot work, because Nigerian authorities cannot pretend not to be aware that currency brought into or taken from South Africa is monitored by law, and that anyone bringing into that country more than R25,000 in South African currency or U$10,000 or the equivalent thereof in foreign currency must declared such.

It said that in any case, those who are using ''procedural error'' as an alibi are being too clever by half. This is because if entering or leaving a country with undeclared $9.3 million is mere ''procedural error'', why was Sule Lamido's son convicted for not declaring a mere $50,000 dollars at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport?

APC said, however, that in the spirit of fairness, it has decided to give President Jonathan and the government he heads the opportunity to make urgently-needed clarifications by answering a number of questions relating to the $9.3 million scandal: Is the money indeed meant to purchase a helicopter as has been reported? To which arm of the government or security force does the money belong? Who appropriated it and for what purpose? Why was the money being ferried in cash by the same government that has been spending huge time and money to promote a cashless policy? Is the resort to cash to avoid a paper trail for the transaction, in which case it is illegal?

''Mr. President, we are aware that each arm of security has an account with the CBN for the purpose of arms purchase and such transactions are properly documented, so why was this not the case in this instance? 

'Mr. President, why did it take your government all of 10 days to admit its involvement in this scandal, considering that the embarrassing incident
happened since Sept. 5th and was not known until Sept. 15th? Does this saga not give credence to the widely held view that you are indeed benefitting from the the Boko Haram insurgency and that you have deliberately allowed it to escalate to this level?

''Mr. President, has this saga not confirmed the suspicion that your 2015 reelection bid has been factored into your handling of the Boko Haram insurgency? Has this saga not given more credence to revelations that the sponsors of Boko Haram are those closest to the President? Has this saga not finally confirmed that the President knows more than he is telling the nation about the sudden escalation of the Boko Haram insurgency, especially in the run up to the 2015 elections?

''Mr. President, has this saga not confirmed that powerful forces in your administration are all working in concert to use the Boko Haram insurgency to secure tenure extension for President Jonathan? Is not clear now why the Senate President infamously declared two days ago that election is not on the table since the country is in a state of war? Have we not been proven right in our declaration at the panel discussion in the British House of Commons on Sept. 8th 2014 that the Jonathan administration will attempt to cash in on the Boko Haram insurgency to postpone elections?''

The party said the answers to the questions raised would go a long way in showing Nigerians that their government is not clandestinely buying equipment and weapons to fuel the Boko Haram insurgency and then profit from its own act of perfidy.

It said while the President is compiling his answers to the posers, he should ask his spokespersons to stop adding insult to injury by saying the CIA, FBI, Mossad etc also travel abroad with undeclared cash, in clear violation of the laws of their destination countries, to buy arms.

''Mr President only gangsters and terrorists conduct their businesses in this manner. Therefore, please call your spokespersons to order, while you are preparing to come clean to Nigerians on this latest scandal,'' APC said.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed

National Publicity Secretary

All Progressives Congress (APC)

Abuja, Sept. 17th 2014

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC calls for dissolution of Osun Governorship Ele...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC calls for dissolution of Osun Governorship Ele...: The All Progressives Congress (APC) has called for the immediate dissolution of the Osun Governorship Election Tribunal and the reco...