Posted by By Musikilu Mojeed, Festus Owete and Olusola Fabiyi on
Former governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande and immediate past National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Audu Ogbeh on Saturday flayed the ongoing altercation between President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar, saying the crisis was a source of great embarrassment to Nigeria and its people.
Former governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande and immediate past National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Audu Ogbeh on Saturday flayed the ongoing altercation between President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar, saying the crisis was a source of great embarrassment to Nigeria and its people.
Speaking at the inauguration of a new political party, the Action Congress, AC, at Eagle Square in Abuja, Jakande said the face-off between the two leaders was capable of plunging the country into political disaster.
Also commenting on the bickering, Ogbeh said the revelations of the last two weeks by the two warring camps had made Nigeria a laughing stock in the international community.
The two politicians spoke just as Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and former governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, described the ruling Peoples Democratic Party as comprising murderers and armed robbers that should be dislodged from power in 2007.
Jakande, who was until recently a chieftain of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, argued that in a sane society, both Obasanjo and his deputy would have resigned from office following revelations of their shady dealings.
The former governor said, 'The formation of AC is a step in the right direction because our country needs to be salvaged. We need a credible alternative that will save us from the kind of bad governance we now have.
'The progressives must come together to salvage our country because there is an ominous pointer to the disaster that lies ahead of us. The president and his deputy are now at war. We now know that the privatisation programme and the economic reform of this administration are for the benefit of some people in government.
'We now know that millions of naira have passed through the campaign account of the PDP. And this is at a time majority of Nigerians are wallowing in poverty and unemployment.
'These are reasons for both of them to resign but we know that they won't resign, so other opposition parties must work together to present a credible alternative that will save this country from corruption and bad governance."
Shortly after Jakande spoke, Ogbeh lamented that the wrangling between Obasanjo and Atiku had dented Nigeria's image, adding that the AC must first restore the reputation of the country before addressing the more pressing issue of infrastructural development.
He said, 'Our country is presently in a very embarrassing situation and the AC has a lot of job to do in restoring the prestige of our country. Because of the event of the last two weeks, Nigeria is now a laughing stock of the international community.
'Our country is now gripped by the rancorous wrangling of polygamous housewives. The issue has badly embarrassed our country. How can we be reading about so many scandals about our leaders in the newspapers everyday?"
Rimi, who spoke amidst cheers by broom-bearing supporters, said the disagreement between the president and his deputy was a further testimony that the PDP was evil.
'Today is the beginning of the end for an administration which was elected to do good, but which has been doing evil; a government which has been implementing anti-people policies and foisting hardship on our people. I can tell you that PDP is gone, it is dead and at the end of this ceremony, it will be buried.
'It is unfortunate and regrettable that we have ended up with a government that is serving the interest of only one man. We have now seen how our money is being stolen and invested in companies by some people in government.
'We have now seen clearly that the PDP government is a government of evil doers-murderers, thieves, armed robbers and pen robbers- and we are committed to sweeping them away. We will then bring on board good and decent Nigerians to lead us", the former governor added.
Tinubu, whose speech charged up the rally, described the PDP as a den of murderers, looters and bad people.
He said, 'The PDP is full of murderers, killers and liars. They are bad people inflicting poverty and hardship on our people. That is why I want you all to take your broom and sweep the party away. You must sweep away the torn umbrella.
'We should not allow the looters back to power. We voted for democracy seven years ago. They promised us good life, light and security. We were full of hope that they would give us a society where liberty and prosperity would reign.
'Now, where is the light? Where is the hope? Where are the good roads they promised us seven years ago? Yet millions of naira have gone down the drains."
He further admonished Nigerians to register and vote enmasse in next year's election, adding that they should also jealously guard against their votes to prevent any form of manipulation.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Umar Ghali Na'Abba, challenged the Obasanjo administration to account for its seven years of stewardship, arguing that the government had squandered the resources of the country.
'This government has received so much money and yet when you go round the country, there is nothing to show for it. We wonder where the money has gone. They need to account for all the income and how the money is spent.
'If there is no democracy, this country is doomed to fail. In this regime, there is no democracy and that is why there are diseases, poverty and violence in the country."
Na'Abba, however, warned leaders of the AC to checkmate some chieftains of the party who were trying to corner it for themselves.
He said, 'In some states, some people are trying to corner the party for themselves; it may lead to the failure of the AC if the practice is not checked. The party must be seen to belong to the people.
'It is also erroneous to think that this party can be built around the ambition of an individual or a group of people. We should not do this because it will make us look like PDP."
In his speech, former governor of Ogun State, Aremo Segun Osoba who admonished the Independent National Electoral Commission not to allow the rigging of the 2007 elections.