Jonathan’s comments on Borno wrong, says APC

Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned President Goodluck Jonathan’s statement on Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima during his media chat on Monday night.

It described it as unwarranted and petty.

In a statement in Abuja yesterday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said President Jonathan was wrong to have threatened, no matter how subtly, to withdraw from Borno, the troops battling Boko Haram insurgents.

APC urged him to apologise to Borno indigenes and to Nigerians for the presidential indiscretion.
It said the threat, which was in response to a statement credited to the governor that the soldiers need to be better equipped and motivated, showed that President Jonathan did not have a good grasp of what was expected of him as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
“Mr. President, your most important duty as President is to ensure the welfare and security of Nigerians, irrespective of the criticisms you may face or whether or not they voted for you. Therefore, you are not doing anyone a favour by performing that duty. It is the role you swore an oath to perform.

“Even if you feel that the Governor should not have made that statement, it is incumbent on you, as the President and the father of the nation, to take the higher road, instead of choosing a public forum to air your grievances. Wittingly or unwittingly, Mr. President, you have played into the hands of the insurgents, who must by now be gloating at the discordant tunes in government over the battle against them,” APC said.

Using the President’s exact words to the Governor during his media chat, the party said: “A (President) should be mindful of what they say. Yes there are issues, but no matter how frustrated you are you don’t make this kind of statement.”

It said based on the anger exhibited by President Jonathan while commenting on Governor Shettima’s statement, the party was justified in its call on the President not to go ahead with his reported plan to remove the Governor and replace him with a military administrator.
“President Jonathan should know that a leader cannot afford to be taking decisions on the basis of a perceived slight or criticism, because such decisions are most likely to be wrong and counter-productive. He should also use his enormous powers as President for the benefit of the people, not to their disadvantage.

“By his threat to pull out the troops from Borno for one month, he has further victimised the good people of the state, who have been at the receiving end of the senseless attacks by Boko Haram. A retraction of his threat and an apology to the people will be a good starting point for Mr. President to make amends,” APC said.