Report By Chibuzo Ukaibe

The Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) yesterday joined those calling for immediate action on the 18- page letter from former President, Olusegun Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan, saying the president should either respond to the weighty allegation raised in the missive or resign.

In a statement issued by its national publicity secretary, Ahmadu Abubakar, the PDM described as unfortunate and troubling Jonathan’s decision to ignore the allegations raised in the controversial letter.

Accordingly, the party implored  the National Assembly to live up to compel Jonathan to offer an immediate response to the allegations made against him by Obasanjo in the said letter.

It also called on the National Assembly “to fully and painstakingly investigate these allegations beginning by asking the President to fully explain himself and absolve himself of them, failing which it should commence impeachment proceedings against him”.

According to the party, while the issues penciled down by Obasanjo “are grave and weighty allegations indeed”, the president’s “decision not to respond to these allegations immediately, the President is keeping Nigeria and Nigerians in unnecessary and dangerous suspense”.

The statement was made available to LEADERSHIP.

reads in part: “We read, with deep disappointment, the President’s response or, better still, his non-response to these allegations, through his media aide. The decision of the President to ignore these allegations, for now, is quite troubling and unfortunate. More than that, it is totally inexplicable and unacceptable that the leader of our nation can assume that the nation can wait until such a time he feels the need to explain these grave allegations, some of which border on treason.

“Nigerians have a right to know the truth about these allegations, especially those impacting on his job as president immediately, not when the President chooses to respond. It is not a matter of choice, it is a matter of duty for the President to respond immediately, failing which his government loses the legitimacy to continue to govern and he loses the moral right to continue to lead the country.

“We at Peoples Democratic Movement, view this decision by the President to defer a timely response seriously. We feel it is an abdication of duty and responsibility and it undermines the integrity of the office he occupies. It threatens the unity, peace and political stability of the nation”.

Urging the National Assembly to investigate the issues raised by the former president, PDP stated: “In view of the above, the Peoples Democratic Movement calls on the National Assembly to discharge its duty and responsibility to the nation by compelling the President to offer an immediate response to the allegations levelled against him in the letter written to him by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“We have noticed a familiar pattern of response from the Presidency since the letter under reference was placed in the public domain. Instead of addressing the issues which the letter raised, the person of former President Obasanjo has come under virulent media attack.

“Conflating the message with the messenger will not make the message go away. This tactic belongs, in this instance, to the realm of political theatre and constitutes an assault on the intelligence of Nigerians who can only be assuaged by a cogent response to the issues, not politicising them. There is a time and place for politics and a time and place for statesmanship. The President is well advised to understand the difference. We call on the President to rise to the occasion and not hide behind the thin wall of ambiguity and suspense.

“If the President cannot defend himself of these allegations, he should come clean and openly say so instead of resorting to the dubious tactic of non response. If he cannot defend himself against these grave allegations, levelled against him by no less a personality than one of his predecessors who had occupied the office twice and longer than any before him, a person who knows fully the implications of what he says, there is no reason why Nigerians should trust the President a day longer than necessary with the fate of their country. In which case, he should either promptly resign or be impeached."

Source: Leadership

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