President Goodluck Jonathan’s
scheduled visit to Lagos today has sparked a war of words between the
Action Congress of Nigeria and the Presidency.
Jonathan is expected to arrive
in Lagos on Thursday (today) en route to Ibafo in Ogun State where he
will inaugurate WEMPCO’s Cold Roll Steel Plant.
But the ACN said on
Wednesday that the visit was primarily aimed at
scuttling its national convention today at the Onikan Stadium,
Lagos. The Presidency however described the allegation as baseless
and another in the series of “wolf crying” that has become the ACN trait.
The party, in a letter to the Lagos
State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), said Jonathan’s visit might lead
to the closure of roads in the city, thus preventing its supporters
across the country from coming for the convention.
In the letter by its
National Publicity Secretary and member of its national convention planning
committee, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the ACN said the convention was meant to
afford its members the opportunity to discuss the merger plan by opposition
parties.
It said it feared that inability of
its members to access the venue of the convention could lead to “a breach
of the peace, the consequences of which no one will be able to fathom.”
The party therefore urged
Fashola to advise Jonathan to either reschedule his visit or use a
mode of intra-city transport, like a helicopter if he must go ahead
with the visit.
The ACN letter reads, “We
are concerned that based on precedent, the visit of the President may
lead to the closures of key arterial roads in the city, which could
prevent thousands of our supporters coming to Lagos from all parts of the
federation from making it to the venue of the convention.
“In particular, the timing of
the President’s visit and the attendant disruption of traffic in Lagos may be
seen as a continuation of perceived attempts by the Peoples Democratic Party
-led Federal Government to frustrate the merger of our party with other
progressive parties, which is a key item on the agenda of our national
convention on Thursday.
“We are, therefore, appealing to your
Excellency (Fashola) to use your good offices to advise the President to either
reschedule his visit or use a mode of intra-city transportation, like a
helicopter, that will not engender closure of roads on a very busy day in the
city.”
The party said that the President
would not want to subject Nigerians to “avoidable suffering just because of a
visit that can either be rescheduled or carried out in an unobstructive manner
on a gridlock-prone city.”
But the Presidency faulted the ACN
claim, saying that Jonathan’s visit which was scheduled long ago would
have no effect on the ACN convention.
Special Adviser to the
President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said a courteous check from
the appropriate Presidency officials would have revealed to the ACN
that the President was not visiting Lagos.
Abati explained in
a statement made available to journalists in Abuja,
that his boss would only touch down at the domestic wing of the
Murtala Muhammed Airport in Ikeja, transit to Ibafo by
a chopper and return to the airport the same way for his flight back to Abuja.
He said, “We find it hard to
believe that any patriotic and right-thinking Nigerian would have written
the kind of publicly circulated letter reportedly sent to the governor of Lagos
State by Alhaji Mohammed in which he attempts to dictate
President Jonathan’s itinerary, mode of transportation within Lagos, and
motive, and even suggests that the President’s visit could have been
designed to frustrate a planned ACN convention and merger with some other
political parties.
“The allegation is not only baseless,
but another in the series of ‘wolf crying’ that has become the sole strategy
and pre-occupation of the ACN. It is clearly a deliberate, further attempt to
undermine, ridicule and debase the office of the President.
“It is certain that Governor Fashola
was already aware of President Jonathan’s itinerary in Lagos tomorrow(today)
since in keeping with protocol, the Presidency always briefs state governments
well ahead of time on all Presidential movements to their states. Alhaji Lai
Mohammed’s letter was therefore pointless and serves no purpose other than
distasteful muck-raking.
“Furthermore, the Presidency
completely rejects the insinuation in the deliberately leaked letter that the
President’s visits to Lagos are always disruptive. The paranoia displayed by
the ACN in its plea to Governor Fashola concerning an imaginary plan to scuttle
a political merger is beneath the politics of inclusiveness this administration
has encouraged in its interaction with the state, as with all other states.
“We have no doubts whatsoever
therefore that Governor Fashola will prove to be much wiser and more mature
than the ACN spokesman, and consign his letter to the dustbin.”
Also, the Senior Special Assistant to
the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, carpeted Muhammed, saying he
did not have the least understanding of the workings of government.
“ I find it difficult to explain how
Alhaji Mohammed expects Gov. Fashola to control or obstruct the movement
of the President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The insult contained in his letter
to Gov. Fashola is a product of a confused politician.
“We know for a fact that Gov. Fashola
is of a different and higher breed with proper upbringing. Nigerians must now
know Alhaji Mohammed for what he truly is—a scare-monger .”
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