Jonathan has failed Nigerians — Northern govs

Northern Governors on Friday said it was sad that the President Goodluck Jonathan-led Peoples Democratic Party administration had failed to protect Nigerians.

The governors were reacting to last week's terror attacks on Adamawa and Gombe states, which used to have minimal Boko Harm presence.

They also described Jonathan's statement that Boko Haram attacks were raging in All Progressives Congress states because they were not cooperating as "unfortunate."

Speaking to newsmen on Friday, Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako, said it was unfortunate that Jonathan claimed that states PDP controls are more peaceful that those controlled by the opposition APC.

The governor, who spoke through his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Ahmad Sajoh, told one of our correspondents in a telephone interview that the Boko Haram menace was spiralling out of control because those at the helm of affairs at the federal level had yet to treat it as a national problem that it is.

He said the oath of "office of the President included a mandate to ensure the security of lives and property of all Nigerians irrespective of ethno-religious or party affiliation."

The governor said the state had at various times reminded the President of his responsibilities to the Nigerian people, especially in the area of security.

Similarly, in Borno State, the state government said it was painful that the President who had not deemed it fit to visit the state to genuinely commiserate with bereaved families could accuse victims of the insurgency for being responsible for their misfortune.

A senior official, who pleaded anonymity out of fear of retribution, said, "We feel abandoned. Like the secretary to the state government has come out to say, we have only received N200m since this insurgency started, we have spent over N10bn of our resources which would have been better used to develop the state on security.

"If we had a Federal Government which was alive to its responsibility, this would definitely have not been the case. If your question is: has this government done well in this area? The answer will definitely be a no, it has failed our people."

In his reaction, the Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, who tried to avoid a direct confrontation with the Federal Government over the issue said the war on terror was the responsibility of all irrespective of political affiliation.

The governor, who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, said terrorist attacks were painful.

He said, "It is the responsibility of all of us, in and out of government to fight terrorism. That is the governor's position. All Nigerians should unite in the fight against terrorism."

The APC also lambasted the President which it accused of trying to excuse his failure, especially in the area of security.

The party said it was a shame that the President could say without any sense of remorse that parts of the country controlled by his party were the only ones which were peaceful.

The Interim National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Lai Mohammed, said this in an interview with one of our correspondents.

He noted that there had been Boko Haram attacks on the FCT, Katsina and Kaduna, which are ruled by the PDP.







via nigerianeye