All Progressives Congress (APC): Arrest of Kano legislators: Clear case of politica...

All Progressives Congress (APC): Arrest of Kano legislators: Clear case of politica...: Arrest of Kano legislators: Clear case of political vendetta by a desperate govt - APC The All Progressives Congress (APC) has d...

Arrest of Kano legislators: Clear case of political vendetta by a desperate govt - APC

Arrest of Kano legislators: Clear case of political vendetta by a desperate govt - APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the arrest of the Speaker, Clerk and nine members of the Kano State Legislature by the EFCC as an undisguised case of political vendetta by a hurting presidency, whose target is actually

the State Governor.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party saidsince the arrest of the lawmakers for carrying out their statutory duty of approving a budget cannot be justified by any law,it is clear to all discerning Nigerians that the only motive can only be to harass and intimidate the lawmakers of a state thatrecently escaped from the hell-hole called the PDP to join the APC.

It said the politically-motivated arrest also undoubtedly marked the beginning of the long-expected series of persecution by a desperate Federal Government, against APC states, in particular those states that have recently ducked from the cascading PDP plague.

APC therefore called for the immediate release of the legislators by the malleable EFCC, which has suddenly found enough resources from its dried-up coffers to go after innocent men, when the same commission has looked the other away while monumental corruption stalked the land, whether it is the Oduahgate, the fuel subsidy scam or the SURE-P heist, just to list a few.

''Nowhere in the world are lawmakers arrested for carrying out their constitutional-mandated role of approving a budget. The world must be having a good laugh at the lack of ingenuity by a government that is so eager to extract a pound of flesh from supposed political enemies that it would orchestrate arrests for offences unknown to law.

''The allegation that Gov. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s supplementary budget was meant to cover-up a dubious transaction due to a budget review request to the State Assembly to the value of 28 billion Naira, from the initial budget of 24 billion Naira, is as spurious as it is laughable, just as the EFCC’s claim that the arrest followed a petition by a stakeholder in the state is questionable.

''The tragedy of the unfolding scenario, which will surely extend to other APC states in the days ahead, is that a democratically-elected government is toeing the well-worn vindictive path of a military dictatorship by harassing and intimidating supposed opponents and stifling the opposition. The Gestapo-style siege on the Kano House of Assembly is a throwback to what Nigerians thought was a bygone era of military dictatorship. We hate to say it, but we have been proven right in our warning in October 2013 that the President was using Rivers State to test-run fascism. Now, he seems ready to roll,'' the party said.

It vowed to use all constitutional means to resist any attempt to use the institutions of state against the opposition; to use trumped-up charges to victimize perceived political opponents, and to curtail the citizens' constitutionally-sanctioned right of free association

''From the moment Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was dragged before the Code of Conduct Tribunal over a case that lacked merit in every sense to the arrest of Sule Lamido's sons and the grounding of Gov. Chibuike Amaechi's plane, the Jonathan Administration has not relented in its search for any crude measure to badger the opposition and perceived opponents to submission.

''But if history is any guide, no force is good enough to stop an idea whose time has come and, for us at the APC, the cheap shots from a diminished presidency and the evil machinations of a crumbling behemoth called the PDP can only serve to strengthen our resolve to rescue Nigeria from the clutches of both entities, which are steeped in medieval tactics of coercion, even as governance has suffered a crushing neglect,'' APC said

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC to National Assembly: Impeach Pres Jonathan be...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC to National Assembly: Impeach Pres Jonathan be...: APC to National Assembly: Impeach Pres Jonathan before he crashes Nigeria The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the National As...

APC to National Assembly: Impeach Pres Jonathan before he crashes Nigeria

APC to National Assembly: Impeach Pres Jonathan before he crashes Nigeria

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the National Assembly to rise beyond partisanship and save Nigeria from imminent collapse by immediately kick-starting the process of impeaching President Goodluck Jonathan for gross misconduct.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it is issuing this call with a high sense of responsibility and the strong belief that the impeachment of the President is a legitimate constitutional option available to the National Assembly not only to protect the nation's democracy but also to ensure the country's unity.

''Our country is drifting dangerously and our people are divided now perhaps more than at any other point in our history, with the exception of the civil war period. There is a total failure of leadership, even as insecurity, unprecedented corruption, palpable impunity, massive unemployment and hunger stalk the land.

''Since the raison d'etre of any government is the security and welfare of the citizenry, and the present administration has failed to live up to the justification of its existence, there can be no other definition of gross misconduct than that.

''Therefore, the time has come for the head of that government, on whose desk the buck stops, to be removed through the provisions stipulated in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is the patriotic thing to do,'' it said.

APC warned that if the National Assembly fails to act and do so very fast, it will share with the clueless and feckless Jonathan Administration the eternal blame for bringing to naught the hard work of the nation's heroes past and for crashing and dashing the hopes of millions of Nigerians, especially the youth who are the leaders of tomorrow.

The party said it is necessary for anyone who may say the call for the impeachment of President Jonathan is outlandish to remember that all it takes to torpedo this democracy is for this increasingly-paranoid government to get a pliant Judge to put a judicial stamp on just one of its litany of illegalities, thus setting the country ablaze, adding: ''And there are many such Judges as we can see by some recent events, despite our warnings that the efforts of the current CJN to clean up the judiciary must not be sabotaged by a few pliant Judges.''

''One such scenario is the present challenge in court by the PDP of the defection to the APC of five state governors. The PDP has gone to court fully aware of the ruling of the Supreme Court after the party (PDP) attempted to make then Vice President Atiku Abubakar to lose his seat and to also strip him of his privileges following his defection to the ACN.

''What then can be the sole motive behind the PDP's action: To plunge Nigerian into chaos! This is why we issued a strong warning in our statement of Dec. 5th thus: 'We wish to state unequivocally that should the PDP go ahead with this plan, there will be widespread repercussions as the APC has resolved that henceforth, every act of impunity of the PDP and the Presidency will be met with stiff resistance in the form of a vociferous telegraphing of people power, the likes of which have not been witnessed in these parts'.

''We reiterate those words today, and make bold to say that not even the revelation by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, that snipers are being trained secretly and that 1,000 people have been placed on political watch, will deter us from saving this democracy, which was watered by the sweat and blood of many patriots, long before this generation of opportunists stormed the political scene,'' it said.

APC said while Nigerians are very much aware of the failings of this government in all sectors, it is important to remind them that the government has in particular not been up to scratch in fighting corruption, which is the fastest way to bring a nation to its knees; Insecurity, which has worsened so much that even those saddled with the security of protecting the nation are being attacked and killed at will; Impunity, which is best exemplified in Rivers State where a Commissioner of Police no longer takes orders from the Inspector General.

The party said the government has also failed to provide jobs for Nigerian youths, even as it daily reels out phantom figures of economic growth that only serve to keep the so-called Ivy League-trained officials in charge of the economy on their jobs; And that electricity generation has so plummeted that many will celebrate the forthcoming Yuletide in darkness.

''The talk out there now is that Nigeria has never had it so bad. But the government may not know because it has distanced itself from the people. Therefore, for embracing corruption so much and providing succour to corrupt public officials; for threatening the country's fragile unity through divisive policies and politics, for frittering away the nation's resources through unprecedented cronyism and clannishness, and for a total failure of leadership, this President deserves to be slammed with the cudgel of impeachment,'' it said.

All Progressives Congress (APC): Obj letter: APC warns Jonathan to heed wise counse...

All Progressives Congress (APC): Obj letter: APC warns Jonathan to heed wise counse...: APC to Jonathan: Don't take Nigeria back to Abacha days The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the Jonathan administration ...

Obj letter: APC warns Jonathan to heed wise counsel and save Nigeria from drifting to the brinks of precipice.

APC to Jonathan: Don't take Nigeria back to Abacha days

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the Jonathan administration not to take Nigeria back to the dreaded and calamitous days of the late Gen. Sani Abacha, when perceived opponents of the government were targets of rampaging murderous gangs and Nigeria was turned to a pariah nation through unbridled human rights abuses.

In a statement issued in Osogbo on Friday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party expressed serious concern over the allegations that the Jonathan administration is training snipers at the same facility where the Abacha killer squad was trained; talks of abuse and misuse of the military and other security apparatus for personal and political interest as well as the reported placing of 1,000 people under a 'political watch-list'

It said the party is constrained to take the allegations very seriously because it emanated from no less a personality than former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in an open letter he wrote to his fellow party man, President Jonathan, which has now been widely circulated in the traditional and Social Media..

''All Nigerians must be worried by these weighty allegations, coming less than 15 years after the long-suffering people had collectively vowed 'never again' to a regime like Abacha's that sent many innocent souls to their early graves and dispatched many citizens into forced exile for merely holding views that were opposed to that of the late dictator's government.

''We are therefore compelled to call on President Jonathan to urgently address these allegations, which have already sent jitters down the spines of Nigerians, especially those who hold views that are diametrically opposed to the administration's. The allegations cannot and must not be swept under the carpet, otherwise Nigerians will know who to hold responsible if perceived opponents of the administration come to any harm,'' APC said.

The party however expressed total satisfaction that more and more people within the ruling PDP are now coming to terms with the real dangers facing the country under their party which, despite being in power at the centre since Nigeria's return to democratic rule in 1999, has only succeeded in putting the country in reverse gear and is now threatening its fledgling democracy, following its (PDP's) implosion.

''We are not concerned by the dirty politics in the PDP and the glaring fact that the behemoth is sinking fast. What bothers us is the impact that the death throes of this rudderless party will have on our fragile polity.

''We in the opposition have shouted ourselves hoarse about the failings of the successive PDP administrations, especially the Jonathan government, in critical sectors of the economy, in particular the worsening unemployment that has put the nation on tenterhooks

''We have said the Boko Haram crisis cannot be resolved by military onslaught alone and that it must be tackled from its roots; that corruption has reached an unprecedented level; that the investments by the oil majors in that sector have dwindled dangerously; that the discovery of Shale oil in the US threatens our economy; and that the government must move fast to check the unprecedented high cases of crude oil theft.

''We have also issued numerous interventions on the victimization of perceived political opponents of President Jonathan, citing the case of Gov. Chibuike Amaechi as a reference point; that the Jonathan administration has taken Nigerians for granted by ignoring monumental cases of corruption and even embracing known corrupt officials as long as their deep pockets can benefit the President's political machinery, and that the National Conference will not serve any purpose since it was conceived as a political gimmick rather than a genuine effort to help lift our country.

''Our party is delighted that these same issues were raised in the letter by President Jonathan's estranged political Godfather, his very own party man. We recall that a few days earlier, another top PDP bigwig and the nation's number four citizen, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, had lampooned the Jonathan administration's apathetic fight against corruption.

''Because truth is constant, gradually but surely, people are rising above partisanship to join those of us who have been warning, ceaselessly, that the ship of state is heading for the rocks because the Captain has decided to ignore the radar and steer the ship blindly even in turbulent waters. This jettisoning of partisanship and the coming out of heads that have been buried in the sand for so long represent a good omen for Nigeria,'' it said.

All Progressives Congress (APC): Court ruling on Rivers House of Assembly: APC vows...

All Progressives Congress (APC): Court ruling on Rivers House of Assembly: APC vows...: Court ruling on Rivers House of Assembly: APC vows to resist any unconstitutional action The All Progressives Congress (APC) has str...

Court ruling on Rivers House of Assembly: APC vows to resist any unconstitutional action

Court ruling on Rivers House of Assembly: APC vows to resist any unconstitutional action

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly warned against any reliance on Wednesday's judgement of a federal high court, nullifying the takeover by the National Assembly of the functions of the Rivers House of Assembly, to perpetrate any mayhem or unconstitutional acts in Rivers State.

In a statement issued in Osogbo on Thursday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also warned the police and other security agencies not to provide cover for renegades to engage in any illegality, saying their role must be to ensure the safety and security of all legislators if and when the house decides to sit.

It said there is no doubt that the six legislators opposed to Gov. Chibuike Amaechi will try to hide under the cover of the judgement to convene the Assembly with the sole purpose of removing the Speaker as a prelude to impeaching the State Governor, but warned that any such act will constitute an illegality and trigger a cataclysmic reaction, the end result of which no one can predict.

''The six legislators opposed to Gov. Amaechi do not and cannot form a quorum (9 members) that will even allow the House to convene legally, not to talk of at least 20 members - representing two third majority - that can constitutionally impeach the Speaker. In a house of 32 members, there is no way six members can be more than 26, even under the warped arithmetic which the Jonathan Administration has been conjuring in recent times to back the losing faction of the Nigerian Governors' Forum.

''However, we are aware that the renegade legislators, with the clear backing of President Goodluck Jonathan, have nothing but disdain for constitutionality and the rule of law, hence will have no qualms about carrying out any act of impunity.

''We are therefore constrained to warn, in the strongest possible terms, that we in the APC will take any impunity in Rivers as an impunity to all, and will vehemently resist such with a spontaneous explosion of people power not only in states under our control but across the country,'' APC said.

Urging the police not to allow themselves to be used to perpetrate violence and chaos, the party said already, the Police Commissioner in Rivers has ordered that all roads leading to the House of Assembly complex in Port Harcourt be barricaded, perhaps as a prelude to escorting the renegade members to convene to illegally remove the Speaker.

To President Jonathan, APC said he must not allow personal and partisan considerations to blot out his responsibility as the father of the nation and put in jeopardy his constitutional role of ensuring the country's unity.

''We are aware of the letter to President Jonathan by former President Olusegun Obasanjo virtually accusing the President of destroying the same nation he was elected to preside over and uplift. We hope he will not allow Obasanjo's prognosis about him to come true so soon by backing any move that can plunge Nigeria into chaos.

''This is because we in the APC have resolved never to sit by and allow anyone, no matter how highly placed, to engage in actions that will make our country a laughing stock and a pariah in the comity of nations. Therefore, there will be no peace anywhere in the country if this Federal Government supports the perpetration of impunity in Rivers. This is not a threat, but the sure consequences of any acts of impunity,'' it said

The party called on all people of goodwill, especially past leaders, to prevail on President Jonathan to back off the renegade MPs who are hell bent on causing mayhem in Rivers.

Meanwhile, the party has described Wednesday's court ruling as bizarre and alarming, against the background of the massive mayhem that was unleashed in the Rivers House of Assembly last July.

It wondered why the court will say there were no facts that the House of Assembly could not carry out its functions, with the Mace as well as several heads broken and the hallowed chambers desecrated by a free-for-all that was watched all around the world.

''What else must occur before the stipulated conditions can prevail for the National Assembly to take over the functions of the Rivers House of Assembly? Is it when MPs are slaughtered like rams that such a condition will be deemed to have prevailed?

''We are astonished and concerned by this court ruling, especially coming shortly after we warned the judiciary not to allow itself to be used by unscrupulous people to reverse the gains that have been recorded under the present Chief Justice of Nigeria, who has embarked on determined and sincere efforts to clean up the judiciary,'' APC said.

All Progressives Congress (APC): President Jonathan using Ecological Fund to dispen...

All Progressives Congress (APC): President Jonathan using Ecological Fund to dispen...: President Jonathan using Ecological Fund to dispense favour to cronies - APC The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused Pr...

President Jonathan using Ecological Fund to dispense favour to cronies - APC

President Jonathan using Ecological Fund to dispense favour to cronies - APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of using the Ecological Fund, set up to address the country's serious ecological problems, as a tool to further divide the ranks of the nation's Governors and solidify his reputation as a partisan and sectional leader.

In a statement issued in Oyo on Wednesday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said President Jonathan's decision to grant 2 billion Naira each to 17 states, none of which belongs to the main opposition APC and all of which are controlled by Governors deemed to be Jonathan's supporters, negates what he should be: The leader of the whole nation!

It wondered what kind of coincidence would exclude all the APC-controlled states from being considered for receiving assistance from the Ecological Fund, ''when we have it on good authority that our Governors even sought suchassistance''.

''The 2 billion naira assistance was given to Abia, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Ondo, Plateau, Ebonyi, Delta, Enugu and Taraba States.

''Before then, 5 billion Naira had been given to Akwa Ibom State ostensibly for 'urgent matters' while 8 billion Naira was given to Anambra for the 'maintenance of the Niger bridge', in reality perhaps a slush fund for the stolen gubernatorial election in the state.

''To the best of our knowledge, even if 8 billion naira is not enough to construct a second Niger bridge, it will go a long way.

We are yet to see any maintenance to justify such a huge fund that was given for that purpose, further confirming our fearson what the real purpose of that money might have been.

''It is sad that a President whose divisive politics helped to break the ranks of the nation's State Governors has now graduatedto using funds from the Federation Account to dispense favours to Governors he perceive to be his cronies. 

''This is the tragedy of a President who was elected on a pan-Nigerian mandate but has now turned himself to a sectional, partisan and most divisive leader in the country's history,'' APC said.

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC hails House of Reps Speaker's patriotic stand ...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC hails House of Reps Speaker's patriotic stand ...: APC hails House of Reps Speaker's patriotic stand against corruption The All Progressives Congress (APC) has commended the Speak...

APC hails House of Reps Speaker's patriotic stand against corruption

APC hails House of Reps Speaker's patriotic stand against corruption

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has commended the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, for his patriotism and dedication to the nation, following his principled stand on the Jonathan Administration's tepid fight against corruption.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the Speaker exhibited a leadership trait that is rare in these parts by shunning partisanship to say that the President's body language does not indicate that he has the political will to fight corruption in the country.

''Hon. Tambuwal and President Jonathan belong to the same political party, but this did not deter the Speaker from rising above crass partisanship when the issue involved bothers on national interest. This is the stuff of good leadership.

''Hon. Tambuwal has shown that he is indeed the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives and that the entire country is his constituency, unlike President Jonathan who has transformed himself to a PDP and a sectional leader by viewing serious issues of national importance from the prism of partisanship and sectionalism,'' it said, expressing the hope that other Nigerians will emulate the Speaker.

APC said the party was delighted to be in the same company with the Speaker over the criticism of President Jonathan's nonchalant stand on corruption, which has eaten deeper into the national fabric under the present administration, adding: ''We have raised the same issues raised by the Hon. Speaker several times in our regular intervention, but the administration has dismissed our concerns on the altar of partisanship.

''However, now that no less a personality than the country's number four citizen and a top member of the PDP is the one raising the issue, and coming against the background of Nigeria's slide in the 2013 rankings released recently by the global anti-corruption body Transparency International, we hope the administration will realize that it has only been paying a lip service to the anti-graft battle, and perhaps make amends,'' the party said.

It said the Speaker was totally right in talking about the President's body language, which is a reflection of the deceptive actions he (President Jonathan) has taken time and again over very serious issues of corruption, including the monumental fuel subsidy scam, the pension scam, the fraud involving the excess crude account, the Sure-P scandal and Oduahgate.

''These are slam dunk corruption cases that should have been handed over to the anti-corruption agencies for summary disposal. Instead, the President - thinking Nigerians will merely scream and forget after some tome - engages in his usual distracting method o#f setting up committees, the report of which he will then put away to gather dust....until another corruption case rears its ugly head.

''Nigerians are not stupid and they understand very clearly that the President is shielding corrupt people, as long as they are willing and able to contribute massively, from their ill-gotten funds, to his (President's) campaign slush funds. Now that a person of the caliber of the Speaker of the House of Representatives has added his voice to this burning issue, the die is cast for Mr. President: He can either move to redeem the image of his administration or continue to swim in the ocean of
corruption,'' APC said.

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC to FG: Take responsibility for mishandling ASU...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC to FG: Take responsibility for mishandling ASU...: APC to FG: Take responsibility for mishandling ASUU strike The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the PDP-led federal government...

APC to FG: Take responsibility for mishandling ASUU strike

APC to FG: Take responsibility for mishandling ASUU strike

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the PDP-led federal government to take responsibility for mishandling the lingering ASUU strike, instead of accusing the opposition of seeking to capitalize on it to win the 2015 election.

In a statement issued in Ilorin on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also said there is no point offering any alternative solution to the strike when it is glaring to all that all the FG needs to do to end the logjam is to honour the agreement it willingly signed with the union in 2009.

It accused Minister of Information Labaran Maku of insulting the intelligence of the striking lecturers by suggesting that they are being manipulated by the APC, wondering what more blunders the FG will commit before the strike is over.

APC said the litany of blunders committed by the FG include reneging on the pact it signed with ASUU, failing to think out of the box to end the strike and finally nailing its own coffin by threatening to sack the lecturers for daring to demand the pact's implementation, an unforced error that has now backfired on the government which is looking for a face-saving measure.

''To the waffling and dishonourable FG, we say the APC does not need ASUU strike to win the 2015 election when the PDP and the government which the party sired at the centre have done everything there is to do to lose the election. The biggest obstacle to PDP's victory in 2015 is the PDP itself.

''Apart from being incompetent, this administration has succeeded in shooting itself in the foot time and again. A government that is swimming in corruption cannot expect to win the hearts and minds of Nigerians, who know first hand what corruption has done to the country. A government that has no clue regarding the provision of world-class infrastructure cannot expect to win the votes of the citizenry. A government that has further plunged the nation into darkness in the name of privatizing
the power sector has already received a vote of no confidence from the people,'' the party said.

It advised Mr. Maku to save the energy he is using to disparage the APC because he will need it to explain to an incredulous nation why a Minister serving in the same cabinet with him has continued to strut around despite being immersed in monumental corruption; why Nigeria's rating by the global anti-corruption body Transparency International has fallen drastically despite the claim by the FG that it is fighting corruption and why Sure-P that is expected to help ameliorate the sufferings imposed on Nigerians by the FG has now become a source of monumental corruption and slush funds for 2015.

''Mr Maku should also explain to Nigerians why the administration he is serving has squirreled out 5 billion dollars from the Excess Crude Account, only to deny such, and why a government that has no answer to the shortage of university teachers is issuing a sack threat to the few who have braved the odds to take up the onerous task of developing our youths,'' APC said

APC condemns Maiduguri attack, seeks new strategy to curtail Boko Haram

APC condemns Maiduguri attack, seeks new strategy to curtail Boko Haram

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned Monday's deadly attack on military and other facilities in Maiduguri, saying it is shocked and saddened by the enormity of the attack as well as the deaths of innocent civilians.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the attacks on Nigerian Air Force planes and helicopters at the NAF base in the city was particularly disturbing, considering the hitherto effective use of aerial attacks against Boko Haram, which is widely believed to have carried out the attacks.

It said nothing in the world can justify such deadly attacks on the military and the collateral deaths and damages inflicted on civilians.

APC however called for a renewed strategy to combat the sect, which seems to retain the capacity to carry out such a massive attack in a major city, despite the successes which the military said it had recorded against it since the declaration of a state of emergency in three states last May.

The party said such a strategy must place a great emphasis on the gathering of intelligence through which such attacks can be nipped in the bud, adding that failure of intelligence, more than anything else, made Monday's attack possible.

It called for a probe into how hundreds of attackers could so easily infiltrate military facilities, which are believed to be highly secured.

''The probe must unravel why the security personnel in the city in general and the military installations in particular were apparently caught unawares by the attackers, who were reported by some newspapers to number as many as 500, riding in trucks and motorcycles.

''If military installations in a major city can be so easily overrun by a band of marauders, then no one and no facilities are safe. That's is why the government and the military must work hand in hand to unravel why such a massive attack on military installations was possible in the first instance,'' APC said.

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC slams FG for sack threat against university le...

All Progressives Congress (APC): APC slams FG for sack threat against university le...: APC slams FG for sack threat against university lecturers The All Progressives Congress (APC) has slammed the Federal Government for...

APC slams FG for sack threat against university lecturers

APC slams FG for sack threat against university lecturers

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has slammed the Federal Government for issuing a sack threat against striking university teachers, saying the resort to such military-era tactics reflects the FG's poverty of ideas in resolving the prolonged ASUU strike.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party in particular criticized the Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, for the way he talked down on the striking teachers, while issuing the ill-advised, go-back-to-work-or-be-sacked threat.

''Wike's language was crude, his presentation was rude and his threat was demeaning and counter-productive. We believe his lack of finesse and the inability to think out of the box in handling the whole strike issue will not bode well for a quick resolution of the crisis.

''We also disagree with the Minister's inference that the lecturers should automatically call off the strike because the President intervened and sat for long hours with them. It is this unnecessary deification of a democratically-elected President that has almost turned this President into an Emperor. What is the big deal in President Jonathan sitting with ASUU members, his former colleagues for that matter?  What is a President elected to do if not to solve problems?'' it queried.

APC said it is unfortunate that Wike can be threatening to sack university teachers at a time there is a shortfall of 60,000 lecturers in Nigerian universities, adding that the threat itself has shown that the FG does not understand the enormity of the problems facing public universities in particular and the education sector in general.

''The poor remuneration of university teachers and the inadequate facilities for teaching and learning in our public universities have combined to trigger a brain drain in the institutions. The pauperization and frustration of the teachers through the non-implementation of the pacts aimed at ameliorating the situation have discouraged those who may want to become university teachers. Yet, the few who have defied the odds to take to this noble path of helping to mold our future leaders are being threatened with dismissal. This betrays a painful lack of understanding of the long and tortuous path it takes to produce a university teacher.

''It also shows that the so-called Supervising Minister of Education is not better than the misguided market women who, having being hired and paid to protest against ASUU, threatened to invade the universities to chase out the lecturers if they won't call off the strike.

''This is what a country gets when it puts round pegs in square holes. It is not everyone who can mobilize campaign funds for the President or organize thugs during an election who should be rewarded with a ministerial post, not to talk of being given such a sensitive ministry as that of education, which is directly responsible for the future of our youth and of course our country. No one who knows the value of education will toe the path taken by Wike in issuing his empty threat,'' the party said.

It said ASUU was right in demanding certain benchmarks, including the non-victimization clause and the need for a senior government official, like the Attorney-General, to sign the agreement, before calling off its strike, in view of the fact that the FG has a history of reneging on its agreements.

''Yes, our party is eager for this prolonged strike to end so that our youths who have been marooned at home for five months can resume their academic pursuit. Yes, we believe this strike has gone on for way too long, and that it will impact negatively on our country's development in the long run. But we believe the issues at stake must be resolved once and for all, so that we won't have a repeat of these recurring strikes.

''The onus rests on the FG to work with ASUU to resolve this lingering crisis. President Jonathan should get off his high horse, roll up his sleeves as Presidents elsewhere do and tackle squarely what has now become one of the biggest challenges facing his administration.

''However, if the Jonathan administration has run out of ideas, as we now fear it has, going by the infantile threats being issued by it, then let it hands off the negotiations and allow other stakeholders to find a way out. We are all stakeholders in the education of our youths,'' APC said.