The party said this in a statement signed by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The APC said the resignation of South Korean Prime Minister, Chung Hong-won, over his government’s much-criticised poor handling of the April 16 ferry disaster that left over 300 dead or missing, must jolt the conscience of Nigerian leaders, who have been found wanting when they found themselves in similar situations.
The party said until our leaders hold themselves to higher standards, as it was being done in other democracies around the world, they would continue to perpetuate impunity, celebrate mediocrity and cling to power at all costs, even when it was clear that there were not serving any other interest but theirs.
According to the party, the resignation of the South Korean Prime Minister was the culmination of widespread public criticism of the government over the handling of the ferry disaster, especially the slow pace of recovery of the bodies of victims and the conflicting information given by the government over the tragedy.
It said the Prime Minister, also stepped down even though he had paid a visit to the families of the victims, just like the President of South Korea.
The statement partly read, “Compare this with the situation in our country, where about 20 job seekers died in a stampede that was directly caused by poor planning and execution by a government agency on March 15, 2014, and for which the supervising minister blamed the victims instead of accepting responsibility.
‘’Compare this with the aftermath of the killing of 75 citizens and wounding of over 200 in a bombing at a bus station in Nyanya, after which the President quickly embarked on an illegal campaign rally in Kano during which he was dancing ‘Skelewu’ on the graves of the victims, or his trip to Ibadan for a birthday party.
‘’Compare this with the business-as-usual posture of the Federal Government and the playing up of the controversy surrounding Tuesday’s political rally by the PDP in Adamawa State, even as over 200 schoolgirls have continued to languish in the den of the insurgents in the Sambisa Forest.”
The party observed that till date, President Jonathan had not visited the families of the abducted school children to offer them support and succour nor the families of the students who were brutally murdered in Yobe in February.
“We cannot continue like this if we really want our country to be seen as a worthy member of the comity of nations,” the party said,
It called on President Jonathan, who has been disingenuously portrayed as Nigeria’s equivalent of Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and other great leaders of our time, to lead the way in showing that Nigeria was indeed a part of the civilized world, where every human life was considered worthy and sacrosanct.
The party also said politics must not stand in the way of decency and human sensibilities just as re-election campaigns must not take precedence over the welfare and security of Nigerians.
Reacting to the charge by the APC, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Abduallahi Jalo, said it was obvious that the APC was still living in the past because President Jonathan “has been and is still in the business of providing leadership for Nigerians at all levels.”
He said, “It is unfortunate that the APC is yet to realise what President Jonathan has done and is doing for Nigeria. Imagine them talking about a rally in Adamawa which the President has since called off. What Mr. President is doing is facing the nation’s problems squarely. I think the opposition party should look for something else to do.”
Source: Punch
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