THE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has raised the alarm that the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration is steadily descending into despotism with a brazen assault on the freedom of expression and the press, the use of national institutions against perceived enemies and a growing inclination to denigrate opposition leaders.

“The Jonathan Administration is anchored on a Transformation Agenda. But the only transformation that we can see is the one from a democratically-elected President to an Emperor, a despot,’’ the party said in a statement in Lagos, on Sunday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

In its reaction, the Presidency hit back at the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) over its claims that President Jonathan was descending into despotism, with the Presidency maintaining that it was in fact the ACN that was home to budding despots in the country.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, in Abuja on Sunday, observed that the latest statement issued by the opposition party in which it wrongly claimed that the Jonathan administration was “descending into despotism,” was yet another attempt by the party to “stand the truth on its head and indulge in the politics of abuse.”

Noting that “they should not be allowed to get away with their perfidy,” the Presidency pointed out that Jonathan was a democratically elected leader who was running a people-oriented, inclusive and progressive government.

According to the statement, “Under his watch, Nigeria’s democracy has been consolidated; the scope for human freedoms has been further expanded and there is respect for due process and the rule of law. Ordinary, Nigerians appreciate the fact that they have a President who is humane, disciplined and focused.”

The statement wondered whether the ACN spokesman, Lai Mohammed, who issued the statement, “know the meaning of the word, despotism, or is he just throwing the word around for onomatopoetic effect?”

It added: “He and his sponsors are in fact beneficiaries of the openness and freedom that this administration promotes.
The paradox is that those who do not allow freedom and equality in their own party or backyard, those who are well known as self-proclaimed Godfathers and closet despots, are the same ones who are now quick to accuse others of despotism.

“The ACN should start by removing the log in its eyes. President Jonathan is not a despot. ACN is the real abode of budding despots in Nigeria.

“The Transformation Agenda which Lai Mohammed tries to pooh-pooh is a well thought-out blueprint on the basis of which this administration continues to serve the interests of the people and move the country forward.

“The evidence of the Jonathan administration’s achievements is visible in many aspects of Nigerian life and society: from agriculture, to aviation, the economy, job creation, power, industry, trade and investment, transportation and others. No amount of name-calling or partisan criticism will distract the government’s attention, just in case the ACN assumes that its persistent distortion of the facts will achieve that objective,” the Presidency said.

On the ACN’s allegation that there was a disagreement between the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi over the recently grounded jet, the Presidency maintained that it was “wrong-headed and mischievous.”

It recalled that Amaechi has publicly stated that this particular allegation was a piece of fiction created by certain persons and the media, adding, “we insist that President Jonathan is not engaged in any quarrel or dispute with Governor Amaechi.
And it is wrong to use the matter of the aircraft that was grounded by the aviation authorities to concoct stories of persecution.”

The Presidency observed that “the institutions involved have offered reasons publicly why they took their decision with regard to the unlicensed aircraft, which in any case is an asset of the state, not the Governor’s personal property. The President has nothing to do with that incident.”

Noting the ACN claims that there is ‘a growing propensity to stifle the freedom of expression and freedom of the press,’ the Presidency observed that the report by the Committee to Protect Journalists which the ACN quoted was not a comment on government-media relations in Nigeria.

According to the statement, “this administration sees the media as a strategic partner in the business of nation-building. The government not only enjoys a robust relationship with the media, it continues to encourage the freedom of expression and of the press.

“Lai Mohammed tries to substantiate his dubious claim by seeking to build something on nothing. He tries in vain. The truth is that the Nigerian media is pluralistic, vibrant, independent and free; it has grown in scope, size and in terms of the freedom to practice under this administration.

“All lovers of democracy must join us in reminding the ACN and its spokespersons that they cannot pull down this house with mere spittle because our democracy is strong and solid and the man at the helm of affairs is a democrat and a progressive leader,” the Presidency declared.

The ACN had said that “If the president is not prevailed upon to change course, Nigeria may be in for another season of anomie, reminiscent of the days of the maximum ruler who took the country to the brink before his sudden demise,’’ it said.

ACN said that the way President Jonathan was handling his political disagreement with a member of his party, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, had portrayed him as a leader who was willing to jettison democratic ideals and principles on the altar of personal ambition.

The party wondered why national institutions had to be bastardised and compromised just to get at a political enemy, specifically citing the role being played by the Ministry of Aviation, its parastatals like the NCAA, NAMA and FAAN, as well as the EFCC and the police, among others, in the presidency’s clash with Amaechi.

“Like we said before, we are not perturbed by what is happening in the PDP. Our main concern is the fact that the party’s internal crisis is overheating the polity and threatening the country’s hard-won democracy.”

“ After the theatrics of the aviation agencies and their parent ministry, the EFCC has suddenly realised that the cost of the Rivers State’s plane was inflated by US$10 million, while the police have sacked the Secretariat of Obio-Akpro Local Government in Rivers. The question is: Who gave the orders for the police to sack the secretariat, and in the process take sides with the president in the political disagreement with the governor? Which are the other national institutions that will be drafted into this scorched-earth campaign against a perceived non-conformist party member?

“If the president can go to this length against his own party man, what will he do against the opposition? Why is it that a democratically-elected president cannot be challenged by anyone, whether or not he is a member of his party?’’ it queried.

ACN also expressed concerns at the growing propensity of the administration to stifle the freedom of expression and freedom of the press, citing the report by the Media Rights Group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), on the occasion of this year’s World Press Freedom Day on May 3, as a global testimony to the worsening record of the administration as far as press freedom is concerned.

“According to the CPJ, Nigeria has become one of the worst countries in the world for deadly, unpunished violence against the press. Nigeria and Somalia are also the only African nations listed on the CPJ’s 2013 impunity ranking. Yet, the government has not relented in its attacks against the media: Gestapo-style arrest of Leadership journalists; fines slammed on Liberty Radio in Kaduna over a listener’s opinion on the so-called Good Governance Tour; arrest of two journalists of the Kaduna-based Al Mizan newspaper and the ban on a documentary on poverty in Nigeria, just to mention a few.

“Also, the ferocity with which the Jonathan administration went after a former minister of education, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, for claiming that President Jonathan frittered away the 67 billion dollars in foreign reserves which she said President Olusegun Obasanjo left behind in 2007; and the fate that befell NEMA spokesman, Yushau Shuaib, for daring to criticise the lopsided appointments in parastatals under the Ministry of Finance, are glaring actions of an administration that is bent on stifling freedom of expression.

“These anti-democratic measures will worsen as the 2015 elections approach. Therefore, all lovers of democracy must join us in speaking out against the Jonathan-led administration’s descent into despotism. This is the only way to prevent a president’s desperation for power from torpedoing our country’s democracy. After all, a critical benchmark of a democratic society is the existence of a vibrant, free and independent media that will give the citizenry a platform to freely and vigorously debate current issues,’’ the party said.


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