APC Accuses Jonathan of Setting Traps for Buhari

The All Progressives Congress, (APC), in Rivers State, has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of setting traps for the in-coming administration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), by embarking upon ‘unnecessary last-minute appointments’ as well as the removal and immediate replacement of heads of strategic government parastatals.

It made the accusation, on Tuesday, in a statement issued and signed by its Chairman, Dr. Davies IbiamuIkanya.

The party declared that it was appalled and disappointed by the plethora of appointments, sacks and replacements by a Jonathan, who was, hitherto, known for his inability to remove erring public officers and to replace ministers and heads of government agencies,who either retired or resigned their appointments.

The last-minute rush by Jonathan to remove and replace heads of strategic government departments and agencies, the APC said, was nothing but an attempt to set traps for the in-coming Buhari administration, in the hope that reviewing these illegal actions would result in the loss of goodwill by the Buhari administration.

It added: “To us, this high rate of sacks and appointments, apart from unnecessarily over-heating the polity, is also distracting the in-coming administration.

“We wonder why all these late sackings and appointments at the twilight of this administration that has caused our nation a lot of hardship, which will take the Buhari administration much time and efforts to mitigate,” it said.

The APC, however, advised the in-coming administration to reverse “some of these vindictive sacks and unwarranted appointments”, aimed at planting mediocre elements that will undermine the lofty ideals of the APC and present it in bad light for the 2019 general election.

“We should not accept this in the interest of both our great party and future of our dear nation”, the party said.

It counselled Jonathan to concern himself with his handover notes and smooth transfer of power to the incoming Buhari administration and refrain from further acts of illegality.

It commended the party’s national leadership, for acting in a timely manner, to stop the influx of PDP members into APC.

According to the statement: “This principled stand by the APC national leadership will go a long way to strengthen our democracy, as PDP members now have no other option than to remain in their party and form a strong opposition that will keep us on our toes.

“It will also go a long way to make our politicians to believe in their political parties and their ideologies instead of jumping ship at the earliest opportunity.

“PDP has for the past 16 years ruined our nation. To allow such mischievous, greedy and unprincipled politicians to have any foothold in our great party will result in avoidable contamination.”