The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Jonathan-led Federal Government of abdicating its responsibility to Nigerian citizens with the statement attributed to the President that those who are calling for the safe return of the girls should address their protests to the abductors, rather than to the President or the government he leads.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it is now logical to conclude that at this point, there is absolutely no hope for Nigeria and her citizens under this capricious government.
”A government that is unwilling to take any responsibility for anything, and one that is unwilling to recognize that its raison d’etre is to ensure the welfare and security of its citizens has simply abdicated its responsibility, and should not be counted upon to do all that is necessary to rescue the over 200 girls who were abducted under its watch,” it said.
APC said the insurgents who have inflicted so much pain on the nation would not have succeeded as much as they have if the government had believed – in the first instance – that it had any responsibility to the people, in which case it would have taken its responsibility very seriously instead of engaging in its pastime – blame game!
”If the Jonathan-led government is right, then anytime a country suffers from deadly flooding, for example, the people should rather blame the sea or the sea goddess instead of looking up to their government for succour. If the Jonathan-led government is right, then the US, Britain France, China as well as the UN, which have all been asking the government to do more to secure the homeland, are wrong and do not understand the concept of governance. Certainly, there is a problem somewhere,” the party said.
Meanwhile, the APC has said it will neither be browbeaten nor blackmailed into abdicating its own responsibility as a virile opposition party by keeping quiet even as the government continues on the dangerous path of running the nation aground.
”There seems to be a grand plot by the Jonathan Administration to silence all criticisms and sweep all ongoing corruption investigations and government incompetence under the carpet under the guise of uniting to fight terrorism.
”This is fraudulent as President Jonathan is only trying to profit from his own corruption and incompetence. While we are ready to partner with the Administration and join all Nigerians in the fight against terrorism, especially in efforts to ensure the safe return of the missing girls, we refuse to be cowed or tricked into submission and allow the looting of our resources and the bad governance to continue unchallenged.
”A government that is quick to accuse others of failing to sympathize with the victims of the insurgency that it had allowed to fester has no qualms campaigning aggressively for a second term of office for a President who has made a failure of his first term. A government that rushes to the media to condemn even an INEC-sanctioned rally, rather than the illegal rallies it engages in, has no shame running a daily advert, under the guise of the hitherto unknown Protectors of Nigerian Posterity, thus showing no respect for the mood of the nation.
”If the Jonathan and the PDP want to be taken seriously, they should ask their campaigners to apply the brakes out of respect for the mood of the nation. They should try to make a success of their yet-unfinished term of office before even seeking another.
”President Jonathan and the PDP cannot continue with their campaigns and then continue to blackmail us into keeping quiet. If anyone is exploiting the national tragedy, it is Jonathan and the PDP. If anyone is politicizing the insurgency, it is Jonathan and the PDP! Thankfully, Nigerians are aware of this double-standard of this feckless, clueless and incompetent federal government,” the party said.
