Politics
Mixed Reactions Greet Jonathan’s Dissolution Of FEC
In a similar vein, some Nigerians living in North America have cautioned Acting President against recycling old politicians when appointing new ministers.
They said the country’s executive arm of government needed the services of patriotic Nigerians to steer the ship of state to political stability and economic prosperity.
For many the dissolution of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) last Wednesday did not come as a rude shock. A lot of notable Nigerians had anticipated few weeks after he was confirmed as Acting President that Dr Goodluck Jonathan would dissolve the cabinet. But he didn’t.
So on Wednesday when Dr. Jonathan took the bold step to sack the divisive FEC, a lot of people hailed it as “long overdue”. The Acting President had few days after assuming power reshuffled the cabinet.
Prior to the action, the FEC had displayed nonchalance to the yearning of Nigerians for a decisive action to fill the vacuum left by over three months absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua recuperating at a Saudi Hospital.
The same indecisive attitude had overtaken the FEC in the past three weeks since Dr Jonathan assumed powers as Acting President. But with the divisive cabinet now finally dissolved notable Nigerians believe the coast is now clear for Jonathan to mount the ruddership of the country.
Speaking on the development, former Governor of Old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa said that the action was in furtherance of constitutionalism. “We support his action”, he declared, “our concern with the Acting President is constitutionalism. We are supporting him based on the constitution to enable him perform.
He however, pointed out that the cabinet dissolution was completely a PDP affair and the acting president must get their support and also needs the support of the National Assembly.
On his part, Executive Director of Human Rights Monitor told The Tide On Sunday that the Acting President has the constitutional right to effect changes in the administration to give it a direction and a focus.
“All his actions are deemed to have the powers of the substantive president and since the donor has not complained yet. But if the substantive president resumed office and disapproved of the dissolution, he can reverse the decision based on public interest”, Okoye said.
On the other hand, he stressed that the action was long overdue because of, “the obvious divisions, distrust, mistrust and lack of fidelity”, while some of the Ministers had lost direction and needed the sack.
The activist cautioned Jonathan against the use and recycling of what he described as the old brigade.
The Action Congress (AC) in Kaduna also said that the dissolution was a welcome development. Speaking, its publicity secretary Mohammed Soba, told reporters that it was a welcome development, as the dissolved cabinet tended to be divided and owed their loyalty to ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua rather than the nation.
Former security adviser to erstwhile Governor of Rivers State, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe told The Tide On Sunday in a telephone chat that the action is belated.
Said Chief Sara-Igbe, “What he has done is the right thing to do. The Acting President is supposed to have dissolved the cabinet for long ago”.
Chief Sara-Igbe said the action would allow the Acting President to take control of the system and therefore called on Dr. Jonathan to appoint trusted and capable hands in the new cabinet.
Asked what caliber of persons that should make up the new cabinet, the former Rivers State Security Adviser remarked, “He should appoint technocrats and most importantly the new cabinet should be a mixture of radicals and technocrats to move the country forward”.
Similarly, a Senior Lecturer in the Political Science Department of the Rivers State University of Education, Dr Godwin Dappa submitted that the dissolution “is an evolution for better political stability in Nigeria”.
For Dr. Dappa, the Acting President’s action would break the backbone of the cabal responsible for destabilising the polity, since after President Yar’Adua took ill last year.
The lecturer, who is also United Nations special envoy to Dafur declared, “I see some of those appointed in the Acting President’s Advisory Council to be potential ministers”.
He added that there was nothing wrong with picking some of the President advisers from the advisory committee, since some of them are capable and trusted hands.
In a similar vein, some Nigerians living in North America have cautioned Acting President against recycling old politicians when appointing new ministers.
They said the country’s executive arm of government needed the services of patriotic Nigerians to steer the ship of state to political stability and economic prosperity.
Prof. Mobolaji Aluko, President of Nigerian Democratic Movement, a United States based pro-democracy group said he was curious about reports that the Acting President planned to return 20 former ministers.
“I’am not sure what the new strategy of the Acting President would be, but I would be surprised if he should sack 42 ministers and bring back 20. It would then not be a cabinet dissolution but a reshuffle,” he said.
Visiting Professor at the City University of New York, Ms Adanma Eze declared, “Nigeria needs a new set of people that are presentable on the global stage”.
She called on the Acting President to give more women the opportunity to serve in the new cabinet, in the spirit of the growing global trend, which recommends active women participation in governance.
Also the leader of Niger Delta Indigenes in Ghana, Rev. Selepere Appreala has described Jonathan’s action as being in the right track to develop the nation by choosing those who will work with him and deliver the nation.
Rev. Apprenla who is also the Head Pastor of Image of God Church Ghana, said it is left for the Acting President to nominate through the National Assembly those who would work with him and be loyal.
He urged Dr Jonathan to appoint technocrats who would work with him and protect the nation’s interest.
Rev. Appreala who hails from Bayelsa State have lived in Ghana for 10 years also said the Acting President is a knowledgeable man that would do every thing to ensure the unity of he nation, as he urged that he should not fail the nation by not reforming the electoral process.
He called on him to sack Chief Maurice Iwu and appoint a man with vision and international and national credibility and integrity.
According to him, “the Acting President should urgently re-address the issue of developing the nation and also addressing the post amnesty programme that would put a stop to the violence in the region.”
Rev. Appreala however said there should be re-organisation in the NNPC and also address the imbalance in the top managements of the petroleum sector.
It would be recalled that Nigeria’s Acting President Goodluck Jonathan had last Wednesday dissolved the country’s cabinet.
Dr. Jonathan became Acting President in February amid the continuing illness of President Umaru Yar’Adua.
President Yar’Adua went to Saudi Arabia for treatment in November last year and despite returning to Nigeria recently, has not been seen in public.
The dissolved cabinet was appointed by President Yar’Adua and the Acting President is working to stamp his own authority by asserting and exercising his powers.
The former two-term governor went down memory lane to recall how they founded the APC but were used and dumped.
In his words, “…those calling on us to join APC, we have agreed to join the APC but on clear agreement that protects and respects the interest of my party, NNPP and my political movement, Kwankwasiyya. No state where you go that you don’t have NNPP and Kwankwasiyya. We have gubernatorial candidates, senatorial candidates and others.
“We are ready to join APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us.
“We were among the founding fathers of the APC and endured significant persecution from various security agencies while challenging the previous administration.
“Yet when the party assumed power, we received no recognition or appreciation for our sacrifices, simply because we didn’t originate from their original faction.
“We are not in a hurry to leave the NNPP; we are enjoying and have peace of mind. But if some want a political alliance that would not disappoint us like in the past, we are open to an alliance. Even if it is the PDP that realised their mistakes, let’s enter an agreement that will be made public,” Sen. Kwankwaso stated.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed long-standing claims that he once sought to extend his tenure in office, insisting he never pursued a third term.
Speaking at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, Chief Obasanjo said there is no Nigerian, living or dead, who can truthfully claim he solicited support for a third term agenda.
“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it. And there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term,” the former president declared.
Chief Obasanjo argued that he had proven his ability to secure difficult national goals, citing Nigeria’s debt relief during his administration as a much greater challenge than any third term ambition.
“I keep telling them that if I could get debt relief, which was more difficult than getting a third term, then if I wanted a third term, I would have got it too,” he said.
He further cautioned against leaders who overstay in power, stressing that the belief in one’s indispensability is a “sin against God.”
On his part, former President Goodluck Jonathan said any leader who failed to perform would be voted out of office if proper elections were conducted.
Describing electoral manipulation as one of the biggest threats to democracy in Africa, he said unless stakeholders come together to rethink and reform democracy, it may collapse in Africa.
He added that leaders must commit to the kind of democracy that guarantees a great future for the children where their voices matter.
He said: “Democracy in Africa continent is going through a period of strain and risk collapse unless stakeholders came together to rethink and reform it. Electoral manipulation remains one of the biggest threats in Africa.
“We in Africa must begin to look at our democracy and rethink it in a way that works well for us and our people. One of the problems is our electoral system. People manipulate the process to remain in power by all means.
“If we had proper elections, a leader who fails to perform would be voted out. But in our case, people use the system to perpetuate themselves even when the people don’t want them.
“Our people want to enjoy their freedoms. They want their votes to count during elections. They want equitable representation and inclusivity. They want good education. Our people want security. They want access to good healthcare. They want jobs. They want dignity. When leaders fail to meet these basic needs, the people become disillusioned.”
The dialogue was also attended by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto diocese of Catholic Church among others who all stressed that democracy in Africa must go beyond elections to include accountability, service, and discipline.
The Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday resumed plenary session after a six-month state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu elapsed on Wednesday midnight.
President Bola Tinubu had lifted the emergency rule on September 17, with the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly asked to resume duties on September 18.
The plenary was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, at the conference hall located within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The conference hall has served as the lawmakers’ temporary chamber since their official chamber at the assembly complex on Moscow Road was torched and later pulled down by the state government.
The outgone sole administrator of the state, Ibok-Ete Ibas, could not complete the reconstruction of the assembly complex as promised.
Recall that on March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following the prolonged political standoff between Fubara and members of the House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
He subsequently suspended the governor, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and lawmakers for six months and installed a sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), to manage the state’s affairs.
The decision sparked widespread controversy, with critics accusing the president of breaching the Constitution.
However, others hailed the move as a necessary and pragmatic step.