David-West: Jonathan A Serial Liar
What is the interest of the President in a misunderstanding between Amaechi and his former chief of staff?
Patience, the President's wife, hates Amaechi. Thanks to your magazine for its recent cover story, 'Her Imperial Majesty'. It was a fantastic research. I am not talking about the first lady, I hate the word Your Excellency. Which Excellency? Have you ever heard Barack Obama's wife being addressed as Her Excellency? Or David Cameron's? We forget that the place of first lady is completely unconstitutional and irrelevant. I am happy the National Assembly stopped the N4b allocation proposed by Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory for construction of a building for African First Ladies Mission.
Why does Patience, who I don't think is patient, hate Amaechi?
She hates Amaechi because she wants an Okrika man to be governor after Amaechi. Unfortunately for Patience, she is not restrained at all. She can say anything and do anything without inhibition. That is why I congratulate TheNEWS on that in-depth research. Mrs. Jonathan once embarrassed Amaechi at a public function in Okrika. That was uncivilised.
I think without further delay, Patience should be humble enough to publicly tender an unreserved apology for that attitude because being a president's wife doesn't give her the licence to be rude. Who will take what Patience did? That shows how impatient she is and that shows you how much Amaechi has absorbed.
She humiliates him everytime. Jonathan caused it because he can't say no to whatever his wife says. He is a very weak husband and he is a very weak president. Whatever she says must happen. How can anybody read that well researched cover story of your magazine and feel glorified.
If I were Mrs. Jonathan, after reading TheNEWS magazine, I'd leave Abuja and go on sabbatical for a long time. How can she face the public now with such revelations of her unconstitutionality? Whenever she goes out with her husband, she stays in front and the husband stays behind her. Nigeria should not take this and the earlier we rose to say this nonsense must stop, the better.
Wives have a lot of influence on their husbands. Most of the things Jonathan is doing are very wrong. President Jonathan is so obstructive. If she is good, she should be able to talk to her husband not to do things that are not good and always remind him that they should leave good legacies behind. Abdulsalami Abubakar's wife advised her husband well. She went to university and law school. But this is a lady that ended in high school.
But she has a degree.
As far as my record shows, I don't attach any degree to her, but if I am wrong, please, Reuben Abati, publish it and let me be educated. As far as I know, she did some secretarial studies or something. There is no record that says that Mrs. Jonathan is a graduate. I am saying that the excesses of Mrs. Jonathan can't be a positive platform for her husband to be a president. In fact, in any other country, if you are unable to restrain your wife's excesses, you are impeached and you go back to your village and stay.
What is your take on the way Patience Jonathan took over everywhere in Port Harcourt recently?
I was there. I witnessed it. I arrived the same day. Fortunately, I left the airport before they closed the road, but I saw the crowd gathering. It was a very obscene show of arrogance of power. As soon as I checked into my hotel, the sirens came. Even Amaechi couldn't come out of Government House. Where did she get the money to build that big house she just built? There was heavy security and the neighbours were complaining. When I was leaving the airport, I counted at least 20 security cars. One of the policemen said: 'Professor, hurry up before the superhuman being comes.”
Even the policemen were not happy.
A few people have suggested that first ladies should be assigned constitutional roles…
It is sad. It is just like the agitation for assigning constitutional roles to traditional rulers. If constitutional roles are assigned to the traditional rulers, by the time the reality will dawn on us, it will take so long to reverse the disaster. It is better the way it is now. Any provision for traditional rulers is dangerous for Nigeria. The Oba I admire and adore in Yorubaland is Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III. He has given the royalty its due respect. He has not degraded and desecrated it. He is a king with magnetic brain. He is so brilliant. He is a good role model.
What do you make of Jonathan's desire to seek re-election?
Has he got the right to contest or does he deserve to contest? According to the constitution, he has the right to contest, with some caveat. All the noise of continuing and completing Yar'Adua's tenure are all academic, they are all just expression to justify what he wants to do. Does he deserve another term? My answer is that he doesn't deserve it. Jonathan is not showing enough gratitude to Nigerians. If he ruled as a president after Yar'Adua and after that contested again and won, now ruling, he doesn't have the moral right to contest again. Pragmatically, he is asking for third term.
The other moral aspect, which people are glossing over, is the agreement with the North that he is going to serve only one term? Governor Aliyu Babangida of Niger State is a responsible man, highly educated and knowledgeable. He said Jonathan promised to go for only one term and it was on that basis that the North supported him. I believe him. Those asking for documents are talking nonsense. Jonathan is used to lies. He has lied before concerning rotational presidency. When they say that it is contained in PDP constitution that presidency is rotational between the North and the South, Jonathan openly said that there is nothing like that in the PDP constitution. He was corrected by Ebenezer Babatope. Babatope is a great friend of mine, but his activities in PDP are so repulsive to me. Babatope said Jonathan is equal to Awolowo plus Zik plus Sadauna and I said he is talking nonsense. Awolowo made Babatope. Awolowo sent Babatope to study Law in London. His statement is not only disrespectful to Awolowo, but also heresy. Jonathan signed that constitution that says that presidency is rotational. A president that told such a big lie should be impeached.
Jonathan has lied several times. He is a serial liar. If Jonathan can lie about the constitution of his party, why do we have to entrust him with the constitution of Nigeria. I score Jonathan C- for his performance. He should stop thinking of another term. If an undergraduate scores C; he can't go to postgraduate school. That is an academic metaphor. Jonathan has not done anything to qualify him for second term.
Soludo's governorship ambition unsettles APGA
The aspiration of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, to fly the flag of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the November 16, 2013 governorship election in Anambra is threatening peace in the party.
After a prolonged crisis, APGA recently heaved a sigh of relief when the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu on July 15 quashed the February 8 judgment of an Enugu High Court which sacked the entire National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
The reinstatement of the NWC was followed by reconciliation between the National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, and Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, who was believed to be the mastermind of the litigation.
Few weeks after the reconciliation, Saturday Independent reliably gathered that another upheaval is brewing following the entrance of Soludo into the race for the party's ticket for the November election.
Close confidants of Obi including his uncle, Sylvester Nwobu-Alor, have reportedly warned him to beware of what they tagged “the Soludo conspiracy” as it could spell doom for him politically.
They are said to have warned Obi to honour the promise he made to Anambra North as nobody would take his words seriously again if he supports Soludo who is from Anambra South.
It was however gathered that the idea to bring Soludo into the race was actually not that of Obi.
Inside sources who pleaded anonymity told Saturday Independent that the plan was actually hatched and executed by leader of the Movement for Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, who was said to have maintained a very cozy relationship with Soludo right from his days as CBN governor.
To actualise the Soludo plan, the MASSOB leader first enlisted the support of Bianca Ojukwu Nigeria's Ambassador to Spain and widow of late Biafran leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
It was in a bid to ensure that the former CBN governor secures the ticket that Uwazuruike and Mrs. Ojukwu organised the reconciliatory meeting between Obi and Umeh.
Shortly after the reconciliation, Soludo resigned from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the platform he used to contest against Obi in 2010 and registered with APGA in his ward at his hometown, Isuofia.
When contacted, an elder statesman who Obi confides in and has much respect for, confirmed that the Soludo plan was not actually the governor's idea.
“You see, Governor Obi gives me the impression that Soludo is not his idea but that of the national chairman. He has not told me anything to show that he will renege on his promise to support Anambra North.
“You know that he has reconciled with the National Chairman, but these politicians, you cannot tell to what extent they have reconciled,” the member of Anambra Council of Elders said.
Peace may have finally returned to the PDP in Anambra after all factions of the party attended a rally at Alex Ekwueme Park in Awka to endorse Prince Kenneth Emeakayi as chairman on Friday.
The occasion which was attended by 11 gubernatorial aspirants of the party and the former Senate President Adolphus Wabara and PDP National Vice Chairman (South), Cornel Austine Akobundu, as well as the South East executives of the party publicity endorsed the President Goodluck Jonathan as the sole presidential candidate of the party.
Senator Andy Uba who could not attend the rally told reporters that he had a flight delay and a function at Emmaus House, Awka.
“I had an appointment for 10am and there was a flight delay so I could not attend the rally. But we all agreed that anybody who emerges as the governorship candidate of PDP would be supported by all aspirants,” he said.
Anambra PDP governorship aspirants are former chairman of the party in the state, Dr. Tony Nwoye, Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo, Chief Obinna Uzor and Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu.
Others are Sen. Emma Anosike, Iyom Josephine Anenih, Barr Sylvester Okonkwo, Chief Walter Okeke, Chief Ugochukwu Okeke, Chief Charles Odunukwe and Dr. Alex Obiogbolu.
Nwoye, Okonkwo and Okeke denied reports that they had been disqualified from the race.
Speaking to journalists, Nwoye said he was cleared by the national secretariat, while Okonkwo said the only issue with his clearance was that he presented a photocopy of his receipt instead of the original.
Addressing the crowd, Emeakayi said that the war which crippled PDP in the state had ended.
He said that the import of the rally was to unveil governorship aspirants to party faithful, adding that ward congresses would be held on Monday.
Note!!! Chrs Ngige defended Gov Fashola's deportation of Ndigbo from Lagos State. Say no to APC