The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has described as uncouth, uncharitable and insulting to Nigerians the presidency’s reaction to last week’s visit of the progressive governors to Borno State, wondering when it became an offence for Nigerians to visit any other part of their country.
In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the presidency’s reaction can only be likened to the antics of a punch-drunk boxer who, having been knocked out by his opponent, suddenly got up and started punching the referee whom he mistook for the guy who knocked him out.
‘’There is no doubt that the visit of the governors was a knock-out for the waffling presidency. Now punch-drunk, the clearly disoriented presidency has resorted to blaming the courageous and trail-blazing governors whose only offence is that they dared to show solidarity for the people of Borno and Yobe, the two states that have been worst-hit by the Boko Haram crisis.
‘’These governors dismissed the presidency’s shameless attempt to scare them away from Borno with a cooked security report. They walked around the volatile Maiduguri market without bullet proof vests or helmets, to the chagrin of the President and Commander-in-Chief who has opted to hide behind the Aso Rock fortress,’’ it said.
ACN said that for the presidency to now choose to denigrate the governors and accuse them of crass opportunism was the height of irresponsibility.
‘’Most laughable is the accusation that the governors preempted the visit of President Jonathan to Borno. Who did the presidency inform of his impending visit? When did it become the business of governors to tailor their movement to that of the President?
Where has the President been since 2011 when he assumed office after his election? What took him so long to visit a troubled part of the country, especially since he claimed to have received a pan-Nigeria mandate?
‘’The truth is that the President was so embarrassed by the visit of the governors that he quickly packaged his own visit.