Clark to Nwabueze: Your sense of judgment is blurred “To brief the State House Press what was not discussed during a courtesy visit to Mr. President is uncharitable, unpatriotic, dishonest and demeaning of respected statesman  Elders from the Niger Delta under the auspices of the South-South Peoples Assembly at the weekend said the leader of the Patriots, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, has no moral right to advice President Goodluck Jonathan not to run in 2015. They also accused him of lying to the press, insisting that the issue of 2015 did not come up at all in their discussion with the President. Nwabueze, who led a delegation of the Patriots to meet with President Jonathan at the State House on Thursday, had while responding to a question on the statement earlier credited to him, said that he stood by his words that President Jonathan should forgo his 2015 ambition so that he could become a hero. But thus did not go down well with members of the SSPA, led by Chief Edwin Clark. Addressing reporters in Abuja at the weekend, the Acting National Chairman of SSPA, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga, said the group’s investigation revealed that 2015 was not discussed when the Patriots visited the President. Nkanga said: “Our investigations revealed that the issue of whether President Jonathan should contest the presidential election in 2015 was never part of the discussions during the courtesy visit. “If indeed so, what is the intent of the Patriots, by choosing to deliberately misrepresent and mislead Nigerians? “To brief the State House Press what was not discussed during a courtesy visit to Mr. President is uncharitable, unpatriotic, dishonest and demeaning of respected statesman. “As a constitutional lawyer, we had expected Prof. Ben Nwabueze to understand the workings of a presidential democratic government better than anybody else. “The transformation agenda, which he has fallen in love with, is the initiative of President Jonathan and it has become a cardinal article of government by the ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party. “Since Prof. Nwabueze admits that President Jonathan is doing a good job with the transformation of the country, it is only germane that Nigerians reward President Jonathan with a new mandate for his commitment and resilience. “Whereas, Prof. Nwabueze out of sheer mischief says President Jonathan would be a hero if he concentrates on tea storming Nigeria without re-contesting in 2015, we hold the opinion that President Jonathan would become a greater hero if in response to Nigerians new mandate in 2015, he implements diligently his transformation programme through 2019.” The SSPA also described the ‘don’t contest’ advice by Nwabueze to Jonathan as a disservice to equity and justice, reminding the leader of the Patriots that President Jonathan is already a hero with the transformation agenda being implemented. They therefore, called on President Jonathan to ignore the advice. Nkanga added: “Therefore, Prof. Nwabueze’s call that President Jonathan should not contest in 2015 is not only disservice to equity and justice but smacks of indignity of an elder statesman whose sense of patriotic judgment is blurred. “It would perhaps be necessary to remind Prof. Nwabueze that the transformation agenda, which he admits Nigeria direly needs, is President Jonathan’s brainchild and that makes him a visionary leader. “So, what in the thinking of Prof. Nwabueze would undermine President Jonathan’s authority for national transformation if he chooses to contest re- election in 2015? “We wish to remind our respected Prof. Nwabueze that the challenges of leadership, particularly in a heterogeneous society like Nigeria, requires humble, patient and listening leaders like President Jonathan and not self-confessed apostles of I know it all. “It is on record that Prof. Nwabueze’s stint as Minister of Education under President (Ibrahim) Babangida was chaotic, turbulent and abysmal failure. “As critical observer of what is going on in the polity, we are little surprised that Prof. Ben Nwabueze and his patriot would follow this unpatriotic path. “This is not the first time Prof. Nwabueze has exposed the pangs of hatred against the administration of President Jonathan. “He has at a various times publicly declared that President Jonathan was unfit to govern Nigeria and therefore should not contest for re-election in 2015. “We are also not in a hurry to forget how he led other “so called” Patriots to march on the street of Lagos on the issue of fuel subsidy removal in 2012. “Prof. Nwabueze has been an ardent critic of Jonathan administration and as such his recent call is a further expression of his hate for President Jonathan and all that the administration stands for.” The South-South elders also condemned the proposed political summit tagged “Project Nigeria”, calling on prominent people from the zone to boycott the summit. The SSPA added: “What Nigerians need at this critical stage of our national life is not a two-day political jamboree in the name of political summit. “Given Prof. Nwabueze’s penchant to denigrate President Jonathan’s administration at every given opportunity, we are not convinced that the motives behind the proposed Uyo summit are altruistic. “We, therefore, call on all patriotic sons and daughters from the South-South zone to boycott the Uyo summit. “It is abominable for a stranger to shave the hair of our son in our own abode. “The South-South Peoples Assembly will not tolerate Prof. Nwabueze and his group, in exercise of freedom of speech and expression, to use a platform funded with the resources from the South-South to throw tirades and salvos at the administration of our son, President Goodluck Jonathan, a man Prof. Nwabueze unrepentantly believes is unfit to provide Nigeria leadership.”
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 04:13:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015