Jonathan to APC: You can’t stampede me out of office

The president’s political adviser, Rufai Alkali, in a statement yesterday, cautioned that Jonathan should not be stampeded, coerced or undermined in the exercise of his constitutional responsibilities.He was reacting to the allegation by the APC that Jonathan was frustrating the transition programme and running the economy aground before handing over.Alkali said: “The machinery of government […]

The president’s political adviser, Rufai Alkali, in a statement yesterday, cautioned that Jonathan should not be stampeded, coerced or undermined in the exercise of his constitutional responsibilities.
He was reacting to the allegation by the APC that Jonathan was frustrating the transition programme and running the economy aground before handing over.
Alkali said: “The machinery of government cannot be put on hold or frozen because the country is in transition.”
Describing the allegation as immature, reckless and out of tune with Jonathan’s “desire and patriotic commitment to a peaceful transfer of power,” he urged the APC to talk less and plan more as the country moves towards the May 29 handover date.
“Nigerians will recall that shortly after the results of the presidential elections were announced, President Jonathan inaugurated a high powered transition committee to plan and organise a hitch-free transition programme for the inauguration of the incoming administration. Surprisingly, it took the APC more than three weeks to wake up to its responsibility to constitute its own transition committee. How then can they turn round to accuse the government of frustrating the transition programme?” he asked.
He said since the inauguration of the committee, Jonathan and the entire machinery of the Federal Government had been on the transition mode; while all government officers had been giving maximum cooperation to the transition committee of the incoming administration of General Buhari.
Alkali also urged the APC to desist from blackmailing Jonathan over government’s policies and decisions, asking the party to give space to the joint transition committee to work in harmony for a peaceful and seamless transition.
On the allegations that Jonathan’s administration was running the economy aground, Alkali simply said: “Governance is a serious business.”
According to him, it appears the APC is beginning to face the reality of managing the great challenges of “a complex nation. Their recent, frequent and unnecessary attacks on the President clearly show that they’re losing their nerves and are beginning to lay foundation to justify their failures in the near future, and we want to remind them that Nigerians are not ready to accept any excuses for their failure.”