Jonathan’s Declaration Insensitive, Callous - APC

President Jonathan announced his re-election bid at the Eagles Square in Abuja on November 11, 2014 about 24 hours after 48 students were killed in a bomb blast at the Government Science Secondary School in Potiskum, Yobe State.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to go ahead with the formal declaration of his second term ambition despite the recent killing of 48 students as “utterly insensitive and absolutely callous”.

President Jonathan announced his re-election bid at the Eagles Square in Abuja on November 11, 2014 about 24 hours after the students were killed in a bomb blast at the Government Science Secondary School in Potiskum, Yobe State.

The party, via a statement released yesterday, accused the president of “dancing on the graves of the students.”

The statement, signed by the APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, reads:

“Since this President has chosen to celebrate a national tragedy, Nigerians should also be ready to celebrate his electoral failure next year.”

“Today, the three North-East states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe are in danger of being overrun by Boko Haram and over 650,000 Nigerians are internally displaced in those states by the insurgency. Yet, President Jonathan says he puts Nigerians first. Lies have never worn a bolder face. The truth is that for President Jonathan, it is Jonathan first, Jonathan second, Jonathan third, Jonathan always!”

The APC also listed similar circumstances in which the president had, according to it, responded undesirably saying that “…with the latest act of blatant hard-heartedness, Jonathan was only continuing along his well-trodden path of acting without deep introspection.”

“When about 60 students were killed in the terror attack on the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, in February 2014, President Jonathan never visited the scene to commiserate with the families of the victims. When over 80 people were killed in the first Nyanya bombing in April 2014, President Jonathan went dancing ‘Azonto’ in Kano less than 48 hours later. And when almost 300 girls were freshly abducted in Chibok, President Jonathan neither acted fast enough to rescue the girls nor visited the village. His Administration even denied anyone was abducted, until 19 days after!”

“This President has therefore established a pattern of putting his political interest above the security and welfare of Nigerians who voted him into office. This President has trampled upon the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which makes the security and welfare of the citizenry the raison d’etre of the government’s existence.”

“It is time for Nigerians to respond in kind by trampling on his political ambition and sending him back to Otuoke.”

The APC also criticized the Federal Government’s Safe Schools Initiative saying that what the country actually needs is a Safe Nigeria Initiative.

The opposition party had previously called for President Jonathan’s resignation due to what it termed a failure of governance on his part.