6th May, 2012
Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has said the record-setting mediocre performance of the Jonathan Administration
and its policy inconsistencies, more than anything else, are fueling the ongoing debate on whether or not the President will seek re-election in 2015.
Reacting to a presidency statement over the ”growing furore in political circles and the media” over the President’s alleged ambition for 2015, the party said in a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that a government that fails to perform has created a
conducive atmosphere for rumours that will inevitably overheat the polity.
”Mr. President, we in the ACN are not bothered about whether or not you plan to run in 2015. What concerns us now is how to alleviate the collective suffering of the Nigerian people, who have experienced more pain than gain in one year of your administration, and have yet to reap the fruits of democracy almost 15
years of the country’s return to constitutional order under your party’s watch.
”If we must be frank, this past one year has been like four for Nigerians who have been subjected to untold hardship and the effects of a catalogue of bad and inconsistent policies. As governance takes the back seat and meaningless politicking becomes the order of the day, many wish the four years of your administration will just pass by fast to give them the opportunity to make a better choice of leadership. This is what is driving the 2015 debate,” it said.
ACN reminded the President that his administration started off on a wobbly note, when it flew a satanic kite on tenure elongation that backfired and quickly eroded what many called the goodwill that ushered him into Aso Rock.
”This was followed by the ill-advised fuel subsidy removal that has now turned into a fiasco; the poorly-managed aftermath in which peaceful protesters were crushed by gun-totting soldiers, even in a democracy; the unprecedented corruption revealed by the fuel subsidy probe, and an equally-horrendous looting of the public treasury in all sectors.
”Add this to what is arguably an all-time low supply of electricity that has thrown vast swath of the nation’s landscape into darkness, the rising unemployment, worsening state of infrastructure and monumental insecurity of lives and property, and you have a ready mix of ingredients that will easily overheat a polity,” the party said.
It said the situation has been compounded by the discordant tunes from those who are close to the President.
”While some said he will surely run in 2015, others said he has not yet made up his mind. This is reminiscent of the situation in other spheres. Top government officials attribute the Boko Haram crisis to different causes, and conflicting signals are being sent out now on
whether those indicted in the fuel subsidy probe will be prosecuted or not. These are the causes of the growing disillusionment in the polity,” ACN
said.
The party advised the President to shun the palace jesters masquerading as his advisers, gird his loins afresh and restore hope to his compatriots, saying three years is a long enough time to make a difference, even if the first year has all but been frittered away.