Apologise To The South West People Now- Ribadu Tells Jonathan
Posted: February 9, 2011 - 15:31

ACN Presidential candidate, Nuhu Ribadu

By Citizen Reports/PM, News, Lagos

The Nuhu Ribadu Campaign Organisation has described the statements credited to President Goodluck Jonathan as “unbecoming of a President” and “one that smacks of desperation.”

President Jonathan while flagging off his south west presidential campaign in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital claimed that his party, the PDP “must” win the south west and salvage the region from “rascals.”

In a statement by Ibrahim Modibbo, it’s Director of Media and Communications, the organization stated that President Jonathan had “finally shown Nigerians how desperate he is to remain in power by resorting to name calling and character assassination instead of addressing issues that bother on the welfare of Nigerians and the people of the south west in particular.

“We recognise the Presidents dilemma. Of course he knows that both he and his fellow PDP governors in the south west have no achievements to brandish. They have no alternative to proffer to the positive changes being witnessed by the people in Lagos, Ekiti and Osun.

“It is however unbecoming of the President that in his frustration at the failure of him and his party to provide good governance to the people of the region and all Nigerians, he would resort to name calling.”

Modibbo also advised President Jonathan to use the opportunity of his campaigns to apologise to Nigerians for the 12 years of misrule and mis-governance that he and his party, the PDP have subjected Nigerians to.

“One would have thought that the President would use the opportunity of his presence to apologise to the people of the Southwest and indeed to all Nigerians about the failure of the PDP governors and the federal government,”

The President should have been man enough to apologise to the Yoruba’s that his party, the PDP, after mismanaging the opportunity they had from 2003 to 2007 to provide good governance in the 5 south west states they controlled , went ahead to steal the peoples votes and manipulate the electoral process in 2007,” Modibbo stated.

The Ribadu campaign organisation also questioned the moral right the President or any other PDP stalwart had in referring to the progressive leaders of the south west as rascals.

“When supporters of a PDP governor and supporters of a PDP senate leader engaged in a gun duel in the same Ibadan killing three people, the President did not refer to them as rascals. When minority PDP state legislators in Ogun, in an historic feat, sacked the majority members of the parliament, the President did not call them rascals.”

“Even in the Presidents home state of Bayelsa, when supporters of the PDP governor attacked supporters of Mr. President’s former adviser, killing six people, the president did not refer to anybody as rascals. On what basis can he now refer to anyone as a rascal,” Modibbo stated.

The organisation therefore urged all the people of the Southwest to continue to show support for purposeful leadership that the ACN provides.

“When the ACN picked Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as its presidential candidate, the party signified its intention to take to the federal government the positive transformation going on in Lagos, Edo, Ekiti and Osun Sates. The people of the south west like all other Nigerians know that the PDP has failed and this will be manifested again to the PDP and President Jonathan during the general elections.”

Ibrahim Modibbo

Director of Media and Communications

Nuhu Ribadu Campaign Organisation




Jonathan Slammed For Mapo Hall ‘Rascality’-, Lagos


The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN and a cross-section of Nigerians have criticized President Goodluck Jonathan for what they called his unpresidential comments yesterday at Mapo Hall, Ibadan, Oyo State, South West Nigeria that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP will wrest power out of the hands of ‘rascals’ governing Lagos, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states.


Reacting to the president’s comment today, National Publicity Secretary, ACN, Mr. Lai Muhammed described the president’s remarks as very unpatriotic, saying that “we will not join issues with him because attacking him is attacking the office of the presidency.

“The president should mind his language and face issues. What Nigerians want to know is how the coming election will be free and fair and what the PDP has in store for the people.”

Publicity Secretary, ACN, Lagos State , Mr. Joe Igbokwe lashed out at Jonathan for calling dependable and committed leaders in Lagos, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states rascals, saying that these leaders had been re-branding the nation which the PDP had destroyed.

“This is a horrible tale from some political nonentity and nitwits, full of sound and fury signifying nothing. This statement is coming from a bunch of clueless touts and political neophytes that have destroyed Nigeria .

“They think they can capture South West again after eight years of disaster in Ogun, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo and Oyo States . The Ibadan show of shame is going to be the last they will get such gathering in the South West.

“They are busy making all the noise in the world but we are busy rebuilding Nigeria . Remember they said these same things in 2003, 2007 and now 2011. The world is not taking them seriously,” he stated.

According to Igbokwe, there was no way the PDP could get back the states the ACN had taken over from them in the South West, adding that the nation had earned more money between 1999 and 2011 than what the nation earned between 1960 and 2008 which the PDP-led government had squandered.

He lamented that in 12 years, the nation’s hospitals, roads, electricity and the rest had been bastardized by the PDP, saying that the PDP is the rascal itself because of how it had plunged the nation into the abyss.

Speaking with P.M.NEWS, an ACN member in the Senate, representing Lagos West Senatorial District, Hon. Ganiyu Solomon said it was unfortunate that such an unpresidential statement would be coming from the mouth of the president.

“We are not surprised; we will soon come up with a collection of the president’s statements. He needs to undergo orientation in public speaking on how to respond to issues.

“It is an embarrassment of the position of the president for him to have used the word ‘rascal.’ As far as winning South West is concerned, the electorates are now wiser,” he said.

National President, Campaign for Democracy, CD, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin said she felt disappointed by the president’s unbecoming utterances, saying “how can the president address governors as rascals? It is unbecoming of the president.

“He needs to apologise; politics should be that of issues. His statement is strongly condemned and it should never happen again. Any attempt by the president to say that again will spell doom for the coming election,” he stated.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga & Yisa Jamiu

http://saharareporters.com/news-page/apologise-south-west-people-now-ribadu-tells-jonathan

Let him not apologise. The SW "rascal" would surely meet GEJ at the polls!

Tinubu shld rather apologise to the s.w by imposing candidates on the acn for the april polls. Gej's word wasn't to all s.westerners

Tinubu shld rather apologise to the s.w by imposing candidates on the acn for the april polls. Gej's word wasn't to all s.westerners

wetin con concern Tinubu with this one now? Did GEJ call them rascals cos of imposition?

Apologize for what? Are there no rascals in southwest?