"THERE IS NO FIGHT BETWEEN GOODLUCK JONATHAN AND OLUSEGUN OBASANJO" .... Reuben Abati speaking for the Presidency.

The Presidency on Sunday denied the existence of a rift between President Goodluck Jonathan and ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying the reported “frosty relationship” between them was “mere drama which is a very important element of politics and governance.” Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said this while reacting to recent interview granted by a leader of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force, Mujaheed Dokubo-Asari. Asari-Dokubo had, amongother things, said Jonathan would not rule beyond 2015 because he is surrounded by greedy politicians who caused the rift between him and Obasanjo.

But Abati in an interview with State House correspondents in Abuja said, “I keep saying it; there is no rift between President Jonathan and former President Obasanjo. The President has utmost respect for the former President whom he regards as his father. He even calls him ‘Baba.’“I don’t think anybody can say he has any evidence anywhere where the President has been disrespectful to the elderly man. So, those things that you see in the newspapers about people saying President Jonathan and former President Obasanjo are quarrelling are exaggerated. They do not reflect the truth,” The presidential spokesman claimed that “some persons” were just bringing up issues in an attempt to set up the two leaders.

He said that Jonathan and Obasanjo were experienced enough to discern the tactics.On Dokubo-Asari’s utterances, Abati said the comment did not reflect the feelings of Nigerians about the President and his administration.He said the ex-militant leader was a “member of the house” and that his outburst came as a surprise to the Presidency. “I don’t know whether it is a wise thing for you to be a member of the house and then for you to stand outside and urinate into that same house. Doing so may serve the purpose of sensationalism and it may please some mischief makers, but the truth of the matter is that wise people may think that that is not really the right way to go,” he said.

Abati described Dokubo-Asari’s claim that some greedy politicians around Jonathan had cut him off from his roots the “a crab mentality theory of human relationship.” Explaining the theory, he said, “If you put a number of crabs in a bucket and one of them tries to go to the top, the other crabs will be struggling to pull that one that is trying to go to the top down. They will keep reminding that top crab that you are one of us; this is where you belong and you cannot leave us; we are together.” According to Abati, when the principle is translated into governance it means that leaders are put under pressure because there are many people saying they don’t want progress because they all want to be at the same level.

He urged Dokubo-Asari to be consistent, honest and truthful, and be less worried about those who are preventing other people from seeing the President. He said, “President Jonathan is not running an Ijaw project. He is running a Nigerian project and I keep saying he is a man who is very conscious of his place in history. At the end of the day, whether the people say they are being blocked from having access to him, or even those of us who work for him, it is important to remember that the only person that will be called to come and give account is President Jonathan.“That is the man Nigerians voted for and all of us, whether we are his kinsmen or we are his staff or we are his friends, I think we should focus more on the Nigerian project, the Nigerian assignment that President Jonathan has been given and worry less about insinuations like all these ‘people are blocking me from having access’, ‘he has forgotten his brothers’, ‘he is arguing with a particular person.”

Meanwhile, Jonathan on Sunday promised Nigerians that his administration would perform better in 2013 and improve on their welfare in all aspects. The President gave the assurance while speaking shortly after he had laid the foundation stone of the Living Faith Foundation’s Bible College in Kaduna. “Let me assure all of you and indeed all Nigerians that 2013 will be better for us than 2012 in all aspects of the nation’s history. The New Year shall be better for us in terms of job creation, wealth creation and improved security among others,” the President told the worshippers,” he said. Jonathan urged Nigerians not to lose hope because he and members of his team had resolved to make significant changes in the country during his tenure.

He said although the changes might seem to be slow in coming because of the tedious processes involved, they would soon be manifesting. He said he was aware that people found it difficult to continue to believe the government because of the challenges they are facing. “Sometimes, challenges make people doubt the sincerity of government, but I am confident that God knows everything,” he said.