The two main opposition parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria and the Congress for Progressive Change – said Jonathan’s statement was an admittance of failure.
The President had, at the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association in Abuja on Monday, also said he was being blamed for the problems of the country, which he inherited from previous administrations.
The ACN, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described the President’s statement as, “as an admission of failure, incompetence and unpreparedness to govern.”
The party said what it expected from the President were words that would inspire the citizenry, not demoralising statements.
It said, “Even in the face of imminent defeat and paralysing casualties, Winston Churchill was still able to inspire and rally his people to victory and faced with Cuban Missile crisis President J. F. Kennedy did not throw up his hands in despondency.
“Hasn’t anyone told President Jonathan that the buck stops on his desk? Hasn’t anyone told President Jonathan that an administration inherits both the assets and liabilities of his predecessor in office?”
The CPC, which spoke through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said the President “came into office out of the expediency of regional balancing and by default, not necessarily out of sheer competence”.
The CPC stated, “In financial recklessness, it is unparalleled. In budgetary imprudence, it is unrivalled. In decadent administrative incompetence, it has unassailable lead over others.
“In paucity of ideological depth and initiative, it is the numero uno. In terms of clueless and blinkered understanding of statecraft, it is the champion.”
On her part, the president of the Campaign for Democracy, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, said Jonathan had created new problems for the country.
She said, “From whom did he inherit the N3trn subsidy scam? He should be more reflective before making public pronouncements.”
PUNCH
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