Senior Special Assistant President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, has lambasted Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) spokesman Alhaji Lai Muhammed for alleged deafness to the truth and mischief. Okupe, who poured his anger on Muhammed while addressing a press conference yesterday in Abuja, also berated the ACN for alleged “inglorious political rascality.”

The presidential spokesman was reacting to Muhammed’s press statement in which the country’s leading opposition party blamed President Jonathan for the political crisis in Rivers State and called for his impeachment. Below is the text of Okupe’s statement read during the press conference:

“The reaction of the Action Congress of Nigeria to the event in the Rivers State House of Assembly as contained in a Press release issued by the party’s publicity secretary this afternoon calls for concern by all patriotic Nigerians.

“The statement blamed Mr President for the crisis and accused him of abhorrence for the rule of law, and supporting a group of Rivers State Assembly members to disrupt proceedings in the House.

“Once again, this position of the ACN is another condemnable, extremist and fundamentally flawed position by the opposition party.

“For the avoidance of doubt and at the risk of repetitiveness, we wish to state categorically that in spite of what the ACN will want the Nigerian people to believe, President Goodluck Jonathan is absolutely unconnected and definitely not involved in the political crisis that seemed to have engulfed Rivers State in recent times.

“The President is not, has not and will never engineer any act that can cause disaffection between Governor Rotimi Amaechi or any other Governor and the state legislature or any other institution of government.

“To avid watchers of Nigerian politics, President Goodluck Jonathan has not shown himself as a person who will deploy his immense constitutional powers against any governor or democratic institution to achieve personal goals.

“Since his election as President, his personal and official mien reveals a personality that has utmost and distinct respect for democracy and rule of law.

“It is sad therefore, that despite repeated clarifications including one recently made by ACN Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State absolving President Goodluck Jonathan from the NGF crisis, Alhaji Lai Muhammed in his characteristic deafness to truth, continues to mischievously drag the exalted office of the President into controversies arising from the election of the Chairman of the Nigeria Governor’s Forum.

“The call by the Action Congress of Nigeria for the impeachment of Mr. President based on these frivolous, unsubstantiated allegations is the limit of tolerable nonsense and a clear descent into inglorious political rascality.

“It is now increasingly obvious that the desperation of the ACN to bullishly acquire power by all means and at all cost, including mindless precipitation of anarchy, disaffection and break down of public order is the driving force behind their incessant, irresponsible and unpatriotic politics of hate and deceit and their high propensity to fan the embers of national discord, disunity and social disorder.

“We therefore call on our distinguished and honorable parliamentarians and the general public to ignore and disregard the self-serving and unpatriotic call for impeachment of the President by the Action Congress of Nigeria.”

•Photo shows Okupe.

Update news