Boko Haram: APC Says Jonathan Should Be Removed …Using Sect For 2015

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned the federal government
against going ahead with its reported plan to remove the elected Governor
of Borno and appoint a military administrator to oversee the affairs of
the state, under the guise of intensifying the fight against Boko Haram.
In a statement issued in Ibadan on Monday by its Interim National
Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the presidency
should realize that there is always a limit to impunity, and that if
indeed anyone should be removed over the protracted insurgency in the
state and the entire North-east, it is President Goodluck Jonathan.
”What is happening in the North-east in general and Borno state in
particular is failure of leadership at the highest level of government,
especially because the imposition of a state of emergency in the three
worst-hit states has given the President emergency powers to deal with the
protracted crisis.
”As the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President
Jonathan is in full control of all the instruments of coercion available
to the country, which he can and has been deploying at will. If,
therefore, some seemingly implacable dead-enders have continued to kill,
maim and destroy in any part of the country, no one but the President
should be held liable. Everyone knows a Governor does not deploy troops.
”Also, it is trite to say that the raison d’etre of any government is the
protection of lives and property. This means that the moment any
government fails in that key responsibility, it can no longer justify its
reason for existence,” it said.
APC said Gov. Kashim Shettima and the entire people of Borno are the
victims in the senseless war being waged by Boko Haram, and that what they
deserve are succour and support, not further victimization by a federal
government which seems to have run out of ideas on how to subdue the sect.
The party said no one should lend any credence to the denial, by the
presidency, of the evil plot to remove Gov. Shettima, because this
presidency’s words have never been worth the paper on which they are
written.
”Several times in the past, this presidency has issued a straight-faced
denial only to go ahead and do exactly what it said it won’t. Against such
blatant lack of credibility and integrity, we do not believe the
presidency’s denial,” it said.
APC said it is becoming increasingly clear that the presidency may be
using the state of emergency in the North-east to fight its own political
battle and get rid of those it perceives as a stumbling block to its
interest in 2015.
The party said if that were not the case, the presidency will not be
flying a satanic kite of planning to remove the Governor of Borno when it
is clear that this Governor has done everything humanly possible to
support the federal government and the brave men and women fighting the
sect, in addition to providing succour to the good people of Borno who
have been terribly traumatized by the activities of the misguided
terrorists.
”The state of emergency has run its initial course and has even been
renewed, yet the insurgency continues. That means the federal government
must think out of the box to evolve new strategies to tackle the
insurgency. One of such is to heighten intelligence gathering that will
make it possible for our security forces to preempt attacks. Another is to
win the hearts and minds of the local population so they can do more to
help fish out the insurgents.
”We are sad to note, however, that the federal government seems to have
its own agenda, which may include allowing the insurgency to fester so
that elections will not be able to hold in the area in 2015. If anyone
thinks this is outlandish, such a person under-estimates the desperation
of this presidency going into the 2015 elections,” it said.