‘No Leader Since Independence In 1960 Has Done Better Than Jonathan’

The Presidency on Sunday debunked the claims of former President Olusegun Obasanjo that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan is under-performing, stating that the claims of under-performance are untrue and misleading. It also claimed that Jonathan performed better than Obasanjo.

The former President had at an event over the weekend declared that he rated the President Goodluck Jonathan administration “below average”, but the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in a statement he personally signed, said, “We aver that Chief Obasanjo’s comments are untrue, misleading and clearly do not tally with the facts on the ground.

“We therefore wish to assert without equivocation that in terms of performance and achievements, no administration since 1960 when Nigeria gained independence from Britain has done as much as that of President Jonathan. Every discerning and unbiased Nigerian will definitely attest to this fact as the evidence stares all of us in the face.”

Okupe statements reads in parts, “We therefore wish to assert without equivocation that in terms of performance and achievements, no administration since 1960 when Nigeria gained independence from Britain, has done as much as that of President Jonathan.”

He said that every discerning and unbiased Nigerian would definitely attest to this “as the evidence stare all of us in the face.”

Okupe, who had also worked with the former President while in office, added that contrary to Obasanjo’s position, the Federal Government under Jonathan had performed excellently given the prevailing circumstances and resources available to it.

He said while it was true that Nigeria had been faced with incidents of insurgency and terrorism, especially in the last few years, the Jonathan administration had successfully contained the initial widespread activities of the insurgents, which he said were prevalent in 12 states of the North, including the Federal Capital Territory.

He added, “While it is true that the present activities of the terrorists in the three north-eastern states have become more deadly in mindless killings, kidnappings and supposed territorial seizures, government has made giant diplomatic strides with our neighbouring countries in order to checkmate the crisscrossing of the insurgents.

“The military and other security agents, which have engaged the insurgents since inception, have done a great job in spite of recent challenges.

“The truth of the matter which we must know and accept is that we have an internal enemy supported by internal and external resources waging a major warfare against our nation.”