PDP, ACN at war over Jonathan’s asset declaration

Leading opposition party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has lambasted president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for refusing to declare his assets publicly, saying that the President’s determination to hide his assets was against moral scruples. The party while reacting to the media chat, however, condemned the president for supposedly lowering the brink of the fight against corruption in the country. ACN through its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said: “If that programme had been designed to showcase the President’s ability to grapple with key national issues, it only succeeded in achieving the exact opposite, and the programme’s architects must now seriously have a rethink on whether they want to continue to feature
their principal on that platform.” “The President, by refusing to publicly declare his assets, and by doing so with a choice of words that portray arrogance and nonchalance (I don’t give a damn about that), has given the green light to his cabinet members and other government officials to downplay the fight against corruption and to eschew transparency. “Yes, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not mandate public officials to make their assets declaration public. But in a country hobbled by corruption and lack of transparency in governance, public declaration of assets is more an issue of morality and leadership than constitutionality or legality. “Since leadership is key to achieving success in this epic battle, President Jonathan, by thumbing his nose at his own administration’s much-stated commitment to transparency and anti-corruption, has simply decreed an Open Sesame for corruption and opaqueness in government.” ‘’Mr. President, if this remains the stand of your administration almost three years into the Boko Haram insurgency, then Nigerians are in serious trouble. This stand is as dangerous as it is ill-informed. Such negotiations are done through back-channels, through intermediaries, Mr. President. Waiting for the leaders of Boko Haram to come to the table to negotiate with the government is like waiting for Godot,” it said. ‘’But we will like to tell Mr. President that when the Western allies, led by the US, decided to talk to insurgents either in Iraq or Afghanistan, supposed facelessness of the insurgency was not a condition for initiating the talks. In any case, when the intermediaries brokering the talks with Boko Haram recently opted out due to alleged government insincerity and leakage of sensitive information, what did your Administration do, Mr. President, to get the intermediaries back to the table?’’ ACN queried. “As we said earlier, Mr. President, that trip was a product of poor and uncaring leadership, pure and simple. Leaders elsewhere rush home from foreign trips when crises occur in their home countries. In our own case, Mr. President, you had not even taken off when the killings and counter-killings started. Yet you travelled out, a huge entourage in tow, under the guise of assuring some gullible investors. Somebody somewhere is not telling you the truth, Mr. President!’’ it said. Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) however debunked claims of its manifesto urging its elected political office holders to embed transparency through public declaration of their assets. The PDP’s reaction articulated by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, also rejected reports that its manifesto requires its elected public officials to help the war against graft by making a public show of their assets. According to Metuh, “The reference to the PDP manifesto is baseless, as provisions compelling elected officials to publicly declare their assets are nonexistent in our approved manifesto or in any of the official documents of the party. For the avoidance of doubt, the said document, which formed the basis of the report is not an official document of the PDP and cannot, therefore, be used to mischievously tarnish the well earned reputation of the President of Nigeria. “Publishing the declaration of assets is not a requirement of law or the constitution. Any decision to make public such a declaration is at the discretion of the individual concerned and should, therefore, not be used as a reason to distract the government from performing more critical constitutional duties.” Chief Metuh added.
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