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August 12, 2013

Jonathan’s an unserious president — Akande

Interim National Chairman, All Progressive Congress, Chief Bisi AkandeInterim National Chairman, All Progressive Congress, Chief Bisi Akande

The interim National Chairman, All Progressive Congress, Chief Bisi Akande, has described President Goodluck Jonathan as an unserious-minded person, who is running a kindergarten presidency.

Akande, who spoke in his Ila-Orangun country home during an interactive session with journalists to mark the Eid-el-Fitri festival, on Saturday, said APC would defeat the Peoples Democratic Party in 2015 presidential election.

He adduced Federal Government’s nonchalance to pressing national needs, breakdown in infrastructure, insecurity and political impunity orchestrated by the PDP in some states of the country as his reasons for describing Jonathan as unserious.

The 74-year-old statesman said, “I have my reasons not to admire President Goodluck Jonathan. I have not found him to be a serious-minded leader. Jonathan is Nigeria’s problem today. He is not a thinking leader.

“I have had two meetings with him since 2011. I have had a long telephone conversation with him. I have written him twice discussing the serious challenges facing the country but he has not found the courtesy to reply. He has reduced governance to kindergarten level. He is not serious-minded.”

Accusing Jonathan of embarking on a witch-hunt of political opponents, Akande said the president set the Code of Conduct Bureau against a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, because Tinubu refused overtures to kowtow to the presidency.

Similarly, he accused Jonathan of victimising River State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on account of Amaechi’s insistence that the allocation of the country must be judiciously shared among local, state and federal governments.

“The only sin of Amaechi against Jonathan is the governor’s refusal, as Chairman, Governor’s Forum, to allow illegitimate sharing of the country’s allocation. Amaechi wants the sharing to follow the dictates of the constitution but the PDP-led Jonathan, which is known for squandering only, doesn’t want this,” Akande said.

Describing former military ruler, Gen Muhammadu Buhari, as a fine soldier that led a junta, Akande, who said military rule was unlike democratic rule, stressed that Buhari was fast becoming a progressive.

Explaining that the slain Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, was the brain behind the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, Akande said the organisation died when Ige was assassinated on December 23, 2001.

Commenting on the possibilities of former governors of Osun and Kwara states, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and Dr.

 Bukola Saraki, of joining APC, Akande said both politicians were welcome to  the party.
 “Oyinlola’s parents were in the Action Group. He deliberately went to join the bad group. I whispered it into his ears when I met him the last time, that why has he gone to join the bad boys? See how uncomfortable you’re now,” Akande said.

 “I have not talked politics with Bukola Saraki but if he is desirous of joining, he is welcome. The current victimisation of Bukola Saraki has shown the people of Kwara which party to go,” Akande said.

Predicting that the PDP would have become unpopular by 2015, the former governor of Osun State said the APC would win in Kwara, Kogi and Anambra states.

He said, “When President Goodluck Jonathan led the PDP on a campaign to the Oba of Benin’s palace, the monarch told him (Jonathan) off, saying that the Benin federal road had not been completed since 1960s.”

He said the PDP was culpable in the crises that engulfed River State and the Governors’ Forum even as he described the ruling party as being replete with riggers.

“To know that the PDP is a party of unserious people, take a look at Lagos political succession and Obasanjo’s succession to Yar’Adua. Lagos succession was for progress but Obasanjo’s succession was for retrogression,” he said.

Efforts to get presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, to react to Akande’s claim did not yield positive result at press time as he did not pick the calls made to his mobile telephone lines.
Abati did not also respond to the text message and electronic mail sent to him on the matter.

 


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