NGF: Jonathan under fire for endorsing Jang

President Goodluck Jonathan

Opposition parties and prominent lawyers on Sunday blasted President Goodluck Jonathan for recognising the Jonah Jang faction of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

The Action Congress of  Nigeria, the Congress for Progress Change as well as lawyers, including Prof. Itse Sagay and Mallam Yusuf Ali condemned Jonathan’s action.

The governors had on May 24, 2013, held an election, where the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, got 19 votes to defeat his opponent, Mr. Jonah Jang of Plateau State, who scored 16 votes.

But some governors, led by the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, Chief Godswill Akpabio, had faulted the election, insisting that Amaechi’s term as the NGF chairman had ended and chose to recognise the Plateau State governor, thus splitting the NGF into factions.

Jang faction had on Friday visited Jonathan who recognised Jang as the chairman of the forum.

On Sunday, the ACN said the President’s action was a travesty of democracy.

The ACN, in a statement issued in Osogbo, Osun State, on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the President’s ill-advised decision had shown that he had little or no respect for democracy.

The party recalled that Jonathan’s spokesman had in a statement the day after the NGF election said, “The President has always shown a willingness to work harmoniously with any leadership freely and independently chosen by the Governors Forum for the collective progress and development of all sections of the country and will continue to do so.

“…President Jonathan trusts that as true democrats and respected national political leaders, members of the Governors Forum will quickly resolve the issues and differences amongst them which emerged yesterday (May 24th) and continue to contribute effectively to national development as a strong, and progressive body.”

The ACN said, ‘’But it is now clear that the Presidency’s statement is not worth the paper on which it is written, that in the Nigerian Presidency, words do not carry their exact meanings and that the spokesmen for the President speak for no one but themselves.

“When viewed in the context of similar deceitful statements by the presidency in the past, especially on the health of the First Lady, one can see a growing pattern of a lying presidency, a presidency that likes to hide behind one finger. This is sad, because without credibility, a President cannot govern successfully.”

On its part, the CPC said it was clear that Jonathan was behind the Jang group from the beginning.

The CPC spokesman, Fashakin, who spoke with one of our correspondents, said the President did not believe that Amaechi would help him in his second term ambition.

He said, “The deception did not travel for too long. President Goodluck Jonathan’s endorsement of Jang as the ‘elected’ Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum has finally exposed the source of the contrived crisis in the NGF.

“President Jonathan did not believe that the Rivers Governor’s re-election would be helpful to his own re-election bid in 2015.

“He plotted, using the platform of his party to truncate Amaechi’s ambition. At first, a new platform for PDP governors was birthed, with a fierce Jonathan-loyalist in charge!

 “For any dispassionate and discerning observer, this puerile predication of the anti-Amaechi group’s dissent is laughable and utterly ludicrous.

 “This anti-democratic stance should not surprise anyone familiar with PDP’s brand of democracy. The split in the NGF was the impetus needed by the leaders of PDP to unveil the plan for ensuring distortion of the nation’s electoral process hereafter,” he added.

He appealed to the international community to take greater interest in Nigeria’s democracy which he alleged was alien to the President’s brand of what he described as “deleterious politics.”

Also, some senior lawyers on Sunday condemned the recognition of the Jang faction by the President.

The lawyers who spoke in separate telephone interviews with our correspondent are Prof Itse Sagay, Chief Mike Ahamba, Mallam Yusuf Ali and Chief Solo Akuma, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

Sagay stressed that Amaechi faction was the only legitimate faction of the NGF, and described the Jang-led group as a “breakaway faction.”

He also faulted Jonathan’s support for the Jang faction.

Sagay said Jonathan did not act like a statesman.

 “Everybody knows that there is only one legitimate faction of the NGF and that is the one led by Amaechi.

“For a President it is a big mistake, he should not take sides. He should have worked with the chairman that was elected, that is what a statesman President should do, instead he is now leading those who are contesting against Amaechi.

“He has become a factional leader.”

Ali said the endorsement of the Jang faction by the President did not come as a surprise, since the crisis in the NGF was orchestrated by the presidency.

“It didn’t come to me as a surprise; it was clear to all political watchers and observers that the disagreement within the NGF was orchestrated by the presidency,” he said.

On his part, Ahamba described the controversy over the chairmanship of the NGF as “much ado about nothing.”

According to him, the NGF is unconstitutional, hence its leadership should be inconsequential.

But Ahamba expressed regrets that state governors could not hold a successful election.

He said, “He (Jonathan) can recognise anybody he wants to recognise but as far as I am concerned all these trouble about the NGF is much ado about nothing.

“That organisation has no constitutional locus in this country.

“Why we should spend so much time fighting over the chairmanship of such a private body that has no place in our constitution is a surprise to me.”

Akuma said the implication of Jonathan’s action was that he had decided to work with the Jang faction.

But the Presidency, through the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak, on Sunday justified the endorsement of the Jang faction.

He said the President did the right thing by recognising the man with the majority of followers.

Gulak, in an exclusive interview with one of our correspondents, said contrary to the lies being fed the nation, the Plateau State Governor won the NGF election with 21, out of 36 state governors, solidly behind him.

He said that aside from winning the election, there was no provision for a second term in the constitution of the NGF up until Amaechi concocted it.

He said, “Governor Jang did not lose the NGF election, he won the election. Out of 35 state governors, 21 are queuing behind him. These are mature and responsible people, they can’t be behind him if he did not win.

“These opposition parties, be it ACN, CPC or APC, don’t they know simple arithmetic? Jang has the majority behind him and President Jonathan came out to recognise the man with the majority.

“The facts are there. The governors are not dead, they are alive. The President is doing the right thing by standing behind Jang.

“By the way, there is no room for second term in the NGF constitution until Amaechi concocted it. It is a shame, leaders should be truthful.”

PUNCH