Following the wide criticisms and condemnation on that greeted the
recent display of campaign posters of president Goodluck Jonathan,
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben
Abati, has said that Jonathan’s office was too important to patronise
such cowardly act.
According to Abati, Mr. president has no hands in the printing and
pasting of the posters: “The President of Nigeria has an office that is
so important that he cannot behave in a cowardly manner. This is a man
who is honest and have reputation of being honest.
“Those who are bent on distracting this government have brought out
the posters. I repeat that President Jonathan knows nothing about it.”
Asked why the President had not directed security agencies to fish
out the persons or group behind the posters, Abati said: “The security
agencies have their jobs cut out for them. If they feel there is
anything that is likely to disturb the polity, that is likely to affect
the integrity of the State or they feel something has happened and they
need information, that needs to be investigated, then of course they
will do their job.
“They don’t even need to wait for presidential directive. It is part
of their normal duty to find out what is happening in the environment
particularly if what has happened is a matter of public interest.
“The President does not need to give any order. People whose job is
it to ensure that nothing goes wrong within the Nigerian state will do
their job.
“They will make their own assessment; they will do their own
investigations. If they feel that there is any threat whatsoever to
public peace, to rule of law and order, they will make sure that that is
not allowed.
“President Jonathan has not launched any campaign for re-election in
2015. He has not asked anybody to go and paste posters around Abuja.
Whoever those people are, they are acting on their own. They are not
President Jonathan’s agent. They are on to their own mischief.
Abati added that it was too early to be discussing 2015, “The
President has been consistent with the issue of 2015. In the last
presidential media chat, he said he was not talking about 2015 at this
moment.
“He had been given assignment by the Nigerian people which is to see
through the transformation agenda, to ensure the different changes he
has promised in life and society. That is what he remains committed to.”
Speaking further, the spokesperson said what was playing out shows
that “the contest for power in Nigeria is quite a complex one and people
will go to any length to push their own agenda.
“This is not coming from the President. When the President takes a
position in terms of his own personal involvement or otherwise with
regards to the 2015 elections, you can be sure he will come out to
Nigerians and say this is where he stands on this matter the same way he
did on previous occasions. But the President is not going to adopt this
kind of tactics that you see on display,” he said.
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