Jonathan should be born again, says Melaye as 500 Protesters Storm Abuja over President’s Silence on Chibok Girls Over 500 protesters under the aegis of Citizens Arise Movement of Nigeria (CAMON) yesterday staged a protest at the Eagle Square in Abuja to register their displeasure over the alleged insensitivity of the federal government to the plight of the over 200 missing Chibok girls. The protesters moved around the federal secretariat chanting various anti-government song to denounce the state of affairs in the country. Coordinator of the group, Dino Melaye, berated President Goodluck Jonathan’s speech on the occasion of the nation’s 54th independence, stressing that apart from the fact that it was not inspiring, his reluctance to speak on the fate of the 219 girls abducted by boko haram insurgents about six months ago, was unacceptable. He said the constitution conferred on the president the status of a “father and as such, he should be concerned about the plight welfare of the people in line with section 14 of the constitution. The one time House of Representatives member, Melaye also castigated the president for not doing enough to fight corruption, alleging that almost all his minister are neck deep in sneeze. He said: “I want to say that the president speech this morning is not different from the one he has been giving before. It has become a normal tradition. Unfortunately, the president addressed the nation this morning, the 54th birthday of Nigeria and he did not say anything about the missing Chibok girls. This is calamitous and painful. “He is not the father of the nation because no father will have missing children, 219 of them and would carry on as if not is amiss. We are here to tell the president he needs to be born again. He needs to respect his oath of office. “He swore to protect the lives and security of Nigerians on the 29th of May, 2011. He held the bible and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Section 14 of that constitution is very clear, that the security and welfare of the people will be the primary objective of government. “But the president has forgotten the welfare of the Chibok girls; he has forgotten the welfare of missing Nigerians. We are not happy; we are calling on him to demonstrate capacity.” Melaye also called on the president to speedily bring an end to insurgency in the country, stressing that there could not be any meaningless development without security of lives and property of the citizenry. “Insurgency must stop now, killings must stop now, unemployment must stop now, insecurity must stop now, corruption must stop now,” he stated When asked why the group chose to mark independent day with protest, he bellowed, “We are here today as Citizens Arise of Nigeria to demonstrate and protest against maladministration, protest against corruption, insurgency and ineptitude in government. “We are here to say that Nigerians are disenchanted and disillusioned about the state of affairs in the country. Nigerians are yearning for good governance; Nigerians are demanding government with capacity; Nigerians are for a president that will behave like a true Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.”
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 06:23:06 +0000
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