The
All Progressives Congress on Wednesday continued its war of words
with the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party over the
suitability of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan for the presidential election.
While the APC believes that fielding
Jonathan as a candidate would be suicidal for any party, the Presidency
and the PDP argued that he remains the best to contest and win a
presidential poll in the country at present.
The latest war of attrition was spurred
by Tuesday’s invitation to the President by the APC Interim National
Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, to join the newly formed political party
if he was fed up with the crises in the PDP.
Akande had said, “We (the APC) don’t
even close our door to the PDP. If Jonathan is tired of the crises in
the PDP, he is welcome in the APC.”
The Presidency however reacted
immediately to the invitation, saying it was an acknowledgment by
the APC of Jonathan’s sterling leadership qualities.
But in a telephone interview with one
of our correspondents, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of the
party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said it was bad that the Presidency did
not read the statement credited to Akande before reacting.
According to him, the invitation was not a compliment.
Mohammed said, “When we say the man
(Jonathan) should come and join us, we mean that he should come and see
how to run a crisis- free party.
“But unfortunately, his handlers like himself, are unable to read between the lines.
“Fielding President Jonathan will be
disastrous and it would amount to political suicide. The PDP itself also
knows that it would be a double jeopardy if it fields the President in
2015.
“This is because, having lost the moral
ground to face the electorate in 2015, the performance of the President
since the past years is even appalling.”
But the Presidency on Wednesday
reiterated its position that the APC’s invitation of Jonathan was an
indication of his national acceptance.
The Special Adviser to the President on
Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, told one of correspondents that
the Presidency viewed the invitation as a compliment.
Abati insisted that the invitation
had shown clearly that the leaders of the APC were also aware of the
fact that Jonathan was the best man for the job at present.
He, however, ruled out the possibility of Jonathan joining the APC because “he is happy where he is.”
The presidential spokesman said some
people formed the new party only to realise that they had no
credible candidate for the position of the President.
Abati said, “I think it (the APC’s
invitation) is a compliment. What Chief Akande has said in essence is
that President Jonathan is the best man for the job.
“They formed a party only to realise
they don’t have a candidate. We thank him for his acknowledgment of the
President’s leadership qualities, but he (the President) is happy where
he is.
“We thank Chief Akande for his
expression of confidence in President Jonathan’s credibility but the
President is happy where he is, as a member and leader of the PDP to
which he remains loyal, and under the umbrella of which he is leading a
transformation agenda for the betterment of the lives of Nigerians.”
Also, the PDP hit back at the
opposition for asking the President to join it, saying by so doing,
it had admitted that it had no presidential material in its fold.
The PDP said the leadership crisis
rocking the opposition party just a few days after its registration was
an indication that it “is a party of desperate power mongers whose
only aim is to satisfy their egocentric interests.”
A statement by the PDP Acting
National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Tony Okeke, said the APC had
confirmed to Nigerians that it did not believe in the leadership
abilities of its prominent leaders, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
It said the call had shown the opposition as a clueless party in dire need of leadership and ideology .
The statement read in part, “By
calling on President Jonathan to join it, the APC has shown that it
has no confidence in the leadership abilities of its prominent leaders
such as Buhari and Tinubu.
“The party has looked inward and has
realised the bitter truth that none of those in its fold has the
required credentials, charisma and competence to be President, hence,
they have been seeking to poach from the PDP.
“The APC has clearly vindicated the PDP
by openly showing that it is a confused and clueless party, lacking in
ideology and in dire need of leadership. It is only a gathering of
confused persons that will at one moment falsely condemn somebody as
inept and incompetent and the next moment beg the same person to come
and join them.
“Also of particular interest is the
statement credited to Buhari who was reported to have said that the APC
will push out the PDP in 2015.
“Buhari as a respected military leader
should be reminded that in a democracy, the power to vote out a party
lies only with the people. He has on many occasions been rejected by the
people at the polls and he and his new party will still witness another
round of such verdict in 2015.”
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