A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Timi Frank, has written an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, where he apologised to former President Goodluck Jonathan and lamented cases of corruption, battered economy, killings, hunger and injustice under the current administration.
Frank, who is a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of APC,
in the open letter released on Sunday in Abuja, titled:
“Open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on the state of the nation,”
said government has shown total disdain for court pronouncements and the
enforcement of fundamental human rights of citizens.
While tendering an apology to the former Mr Jonathan for his role in
voting him (Jonathan) out in 2015, Mr Frank told Buhari that
“under your tenure the rule of law has been replaced with the rule of force.
You have injected fear into the society.
“People who voted for you to save them from corruption and ineptitude have
been barred from speaking up against the myriads of evil and wicked acts
being perpetrated by officials in your government.
“Unfortunately, corruption is in the upward swing under your watch.
This is why I had to apologize to Jonathan since events of the last
three years have shown the former President was a better leader.
“People freely expressed themselves under Jonathan’s administration without fear
of being branded cultists’ sponsors, gunrunners or aiding murderers.
But not so under this administration.
“Under Jonathan, Nigerians enjoyed freedom of speech, association and
right to hold dissenting views including organizing and partaking in protests against
unwelcome government policies. All these are no go areas today.
“Does it mean Jonathan was a better democrat?
It is a fact that no member of the APC which was then in the opposition
before 2015 was jailed or harassed for expressing dissent.
“However, under this administration, the Senate President is being persecuted,
Senator Dino Melaye has been arrested and detained like a common criminal,
Senator Matthew Urhroghide had been attacked for telling Nigerians that the
Federal Government breached the Constitution by paying the sum of
$496million for 12 Tucano fighter jets without National Assembly approval;
the trial of Senator Isa Misau by the AGF over his face-off with the
Inspector General of Police, the persecution of most members of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the name of fighting corruption are all
examples of intolerance under this administration.
“Mr. President, while your fight against corruption is being promoted as
gathering steam leading to an award given to you by the African Union (AU) recently,
the allegation of illegal award of $25billion contracts leveled
against the GMD of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),
has not been investigated but rather the malfeasance and shoddy
dealing in the NNPC has been swept under the carpet because as
the substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources any probe
of the agency will require that you make some explanations.”
While urging Nigerians to wake up and face the current realities
“and save Nigeria from total collapse under the jackboots
of impunity by this administration,”
the Bayelsa born politician also said
“history will not be fair to me if I had championed the campaigns
against former President Jonathan and now remain silent
in the face of anti-democratic tendencies and sheer impunity.”
