Jonathan is not a dictator, Obanikoro replies Tinubu

By The Citizen

The Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has lashed Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu for calling President Goodluck Jonathan a dictator.

Obanikoro, who made this known on Saturday in Warri, Delta State, while rounding off his visit to naval formations in the Eastern Naval Command and Central Naval Command to ascertain the state of naval platforms, said that  President Jonathan as one who wraps himself with a democratic gown and therefore cannot be in a hurry to take decisions that are far-reaching and binding.

'You cannot describe the president as clueless. The Presdient is a man who has wrapped himself fully in a democratic gown. And to wrap himself in a democratic gown, you cannot be in a hurry to take decisions. You must always have a balanced position on all issues. When President Olusegun Obasanjo was there, people complained of high-handedness.

'When President Yar'Adua was there, there were some complaints.  Now that Jonathan is there, he is trying to be democratic in every sense of it and every now and then, he is using his power to ensure certain things are done properly. People are saying he is becoming dictatorial.

'That is not dictatorship. Even in democracy, the law allows some elements of enforcement. If the enforcement is now interpreted to mean dictatorship, then, something must be wrong with us,' he said