The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has described incompetence, cluelessness and inconsistency
as the hallmark of the Jonathan Administration, contrary to the futile attempt by presidential aide Doyin
Okupe to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians through a pedestrian play on semantics.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the
party also slammed Okupe for seeking to blame the opposition for the failure of the Jonathan Administration
to make a positive impact on the lives of Nigerians, saying the likes of Okupe, rather than the opposition,
have contributed in no small measure to the Administration’s low esteem in the eyes of Nigerians.
”There is no point rummaging through the dictionary to define incompetence, as Okupe has done in his rambling
statement. All one needs to do to understand the meaning of incompetence is to look at the waffling Jonathan
Administration.
”Touting President Goodluck Jonathan’s impressive academic qualifications is also very cheap, as they have not
proven to be an asset in the way and manner the President has steered the affairs of his Administration, especially
his articulation of his government’s policies and the projection of its ability. In any case, while a Doctorate Degree
in any field is something to be celebrated, it is not a pre-requisite for being a good leader,” it said.
ACN said the incompetence and cluelessness of the Jonahan Administration have resulted in the country being bogged
down by monumental corruption, unprecedented level of insecurity, policy flip-flops, absence of governance and
downright lies that have estranged the citizens and erased their trust in government.
”No Administration in our recent history has been more a hotbed of corruption than the Jonathan Administration, whether
it is the fuel subsidy scam or the police pension scam, just to mention two. Even when a feeble attempt is made to prosecute
those behind the scams, the majesty of the law is rubbished by incompetent prosecution that ensures that convicted persons
get only a slap on the wrist. Under the Jonathan Administration, the more money you steal, the less punishment you receive!
”Profligacy has also been the order of the day. If this government is not building a 2.2 billion naira banquet hall, it is
spending 4 billion naira on the office building of the African First Ladies Peace Mission. The funds being wasted on these
white elephant projects would have been better spent on creating jobs for our youths, millions of whom are roaming the
streets daily in search of what to do to make ends meet,” the party said.
On the road contracts awarded by the Jonathan Administration, it said the joke is on Okupe who, in saner climes, cannot
be speaking for any government that is worth its salt.
”There is nothing new about awarding contracts for road rehabilitation. What the public expect from Okupe is how many of the
roads have been completed or are nearing completion. The contracts for most of the roads which Okupe listed in his statement have
been awarded severally by previous PDP regimes, with nothing to show. Even Okupe has collected huge funds for road contracts
that he later abandoned! How then can such contracts be celebrated, when all they do is put money in the pockets of party cronies?
How can such a man like Okupe speak for any serious government, when he should have been dutifully prosecuted? Little wonder
the citizens have no trust in the Jonathan Administration?” ACN queried.
The party said one area in which the Jonathan Administration’s incompetence is most glaring is the provision of security. While a security
crisis of the scale perpetrated by Boko Haram may be unprecedented in our country, equally unfathomable is the government’s inability
to rise to the occasion, to such an extent that even the President admits that his administration has been infiltrated by Boko Haram
members! Of course, there is also unprecedented cases of kidnapping and armed robbery, all of which have overwhelmed the clueless
government.
”Overall, a government that lies to its citizens by either saying it had been hailed for its anti-corruption effort by Transparency International
when that is not the case, or giving an exaggerated amount of electricity that has been generated cannot get much respect from the people.
A government that sends conflicting signals to foreign investors, in particular over whether or not the power contract awarded to Canadian
firm Manitoba has been cancelled, cannot and should not be trusted.
”The Jonathan Administration should address the issue of trust, chase away those among its officials who lack credibility because of their past
deeds and begin to take governance very seriously. Then, and only then, will it not have to worry about what label an imaginary opposition is
putting on the government,” ACN said.
