President Goodluck Jonathan's
assessment of his administration in the
last two years, saying the President has
not performed.
But the ACN, in a statement in Ibadan, on
Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, reminded the President
that it was not the business of the opposition to
spoon-feed his administration on how to
govern.They also said that Nigerians did not
need a marking scheme to assess the Jonathan
administration.
"Mr. President, Nigerians need no marking
scheme to know that the rate of unemployment
went up, under your watch, to an unprecedented
23.9% by December 2011, according to figures
given by the National Bureau of Statistics. Today,
the figure must be hovering above the 50%
mark!
"Mr. President, what marking scheme does one
need to know that despite the seemingly
impressive economic figures being reeled out by
your administration, the average Nigerian is
worse off today than he or she was before you
assumed office?"
The ACN said the Washington-based global
advocacy and campaigning organisation, ONE,
listed Nigeria, under President Jonathan, and
Democratic Republic of Congo among "laggard
countries'' pulling Africa back from reaching the
MDG goals by 2015.
"This global body did not use any 'Jonathan-style
marking scheme' to name Uganda, Rwanda,
Malawi, Ghana and Ethiopia as the top
performing countries in Africa (on the MDGs),
even when they are less endowed than Nigeria."
The party said it would not have wasted its
energy on commenting on the mid-term
performance record of the Jonathan
administration, had the President not
disingenuously decided to blame imaginary
enemies of his administration for his token
achievements in the face of mounting challenges
facing the country.
It said, "Mr. President, it is never too late for you
to put your shoulder to the wheel, shun the
political jobbers around you, reinvigorate your
cabinet by chasing away the deadwood there –
though some of them come highly
recommended on paper – and giving Nigerians a
more purposeful governance.
"When that happens, you will not need to waste
valuable time on lecturing your much-sapped
compatriots on how to assess your
administration, and you would have succeeded
in rending those seemingly implacable critics of
yours in the media and the opposition jobless."
Also, the ANPP, which reacted through its
spokesman, Emma Eneukwu, said it was not
impressed by Jonathan's assessment.
It said that it had gone out of its way to proffer
solutions to the myriad of problems facing the
country, out of sheer patriotism.
"Needless to say that such suggestions from us
and other well-meaning groups and individuals
have been so arrogantly ignored by the
administration,'' it said.
The party wondered why Jonathan was suddenly
irritated that Nigerians had not given his
administration a pass mark, after about three
years in office.
It said that after being bashed by Nigerians for
non-performance he had to encourage himself
by becoming the exam setter and marker.
The ANPP said, "Performance is like a pregnancy
that cannot be hidden. Where did he perform? Is
it power, security, job creation, corruption or
other infrastructural developments?
"The President knows he has failed Nigerians.
Note that it is non- performance of the President
that pushed him to aggression and fighting
imaginary enemies. A performing President
moves with air of confidence knowing that the
people are on his side."
But the Presidency described the statements
credited to the opposition political parties on the
mid-term performance of Jonathan as reckless
and irresponsible.
Special Adviser to the President on Political
Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak, said contrary to the
position of the opposition parties, Jonathan had
achieved so much in the two years of his
administration.
Gulak said, "The ANPP, ACN, Congress for
Progressive Change and other political parties
are just making statements that are reckless and
irresponsible.
"Have governors of ACN, CPC or ANPP states
presented mid-term report to the people of their
states? The answer is no.
"This is the first time in history that a President
will present his mid-term report to the people of
the country. He told Nigerians in clear terms
what he has done in the last two years.
"President Jonathan's achievements are facts
and verifiable. They are there for all to see, they
are not rhetoric.
"Nigerians should be the ones to be talking and
not the ACN and others that will never see
anything good in this administration. That was
why he said Nigerians who want to assess him
should design their marking scheme."
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