Yesterday Mr Goodluck Jonathan shocked his fervent supporters by saying MEND was nt responsible for the blast. By that statement he has ridiculed himself and his supporters . did Gej weigh the implication of the statement b4 going public with it . That statement mite end up becoming the death knell for GEJ aspiration. The trend is worisome as it is reminicent of Aguiyi ironsi inaction on Nzeagwu and co in 66 . Mr GEJ should tell us if he is nt ready for the mantle bestowed on him so progressive like me can realign for plan B .

who is paying u?

Dnt get me wrong . I like GEJ bt he messed up yesterday .

^^^^^^^^^^^^

I feel you. sometimes i feel he reacts too early to some issues these days,but you never know it could be because of the mass of info at his disposal. I expect more things to unfold in the coming days, and hope he is proven right. For now lets just keep our fingers crossed.

to be frank with you, I believe the president. The name Mend was used as a diversionary tactics. The main leaders of Mend have come out to denounce the bombing, while some even confessed being approached by politicians through proxies to carry out the act in order to destabilize the country. like one mopol said, let keep our fingers crossed and watch events unfold.

@poster calm down and wait. I feel you but The President has more info at his disposal than you know.

@ ALL, did the President actually come out on TV and say those words, or is it just hearsay?

The reason I ask is that, I dont seem to be able to find any credible news source carrying the story or statement directly from the President/Presidency

Can someone please paste the news story from a reliable source? I think this is likely to be a story rather hashed up by the media to make Jonathan look like a MEND sympathiser at best, or at worst a MEND insider.

It looks like they are trying to create a level of distrust towards GEJ from the public who seem to be supporting him as Presidential candidate for 2011.


Sometimes we forget how the Nigerian media are used to manipulate the Nigerian readership.

It may be true, but we should know who we are dealing with also.

londoner:

@ ALL, did the President actually come out on TV and say those words, or is it just hearsay?

No doubt Nigerian news agencies make themselves amenable to being used partisanly but I doubt that is the case here. Jonathan made this claim while addressing a meeting organised by the ECOWAS parliament.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5626087-146/jonathan_says_mend_not_responsible_for.csp

Jonathan says MEND not responsible for Abuja attacks NAN


October 2, 2010 05:17PM

President Goodluck Jonathan has said that terrorists were responsible for the bomb blasts that rocked Abuja yesterday contrary to claims that the act was perpetrate by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

Mr. Jonathan made the claim in his opening address at the colloquium, organised today in Abuja by the ECOWAS Parliament, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of some African countries.

``What happened yesterday was a terrorist act and MEND was just used as a straw; MEND is not a terrorist group," the President said.

``The Niger Delta people are aware of the government's noble efforts to assuage the suffering and deprivation in that region.

``I am from the Niger Delta, my father's house is few metres from an oil-well, so nobody can claimto be a Niger Deltan than myself."

MEND, yesterday, claimed responsibility for the attacks. A few minutes before the blasts, the group sent an email to journalists and media companies warning of the impending violence.

"With due respect to all invited guests, dignitaries and attendees of the 50th independence anniversary of Nigeria being held today, Friday, October 1, 2010 at the Eagle Square Abuja, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is asking everyone to begin immediate evacuation of the entire area within the next 30 minutes. This warning expires after 10.30Hrs," MEND spokesperson Jomo Gbomo said in the mail.

However, Mr. Jonathan has said this was a diversionary tact by the real perpetrators of the crime. He argued that no Niger Delta group would carry out such an act as it would affect the region's chance for development.

``It is erroneous to think that my people who have been agitating for good living will deliberately blow up the opportunity they have now,'' Mr. Jonathan said.

He also said the country's security agencies will be restructured to become proactive to guarantee the safety of lives and property.

``I pray for the souls of those who died to attain peace and fervently pray for those who sustain injuries in the blast to be healed,'' he said.

@Gbawe, I read that, but how come no reputable SOURCE is reporting it? If he actually said that at the Ecowas address, why has it not been widely reported in other press?

When I google searched it, it is only a few web based "news" sites that make that claim.

Was there be no television crews in the Ecowas address, as there always is?

Until I see it in respectable media houses, I will take the report with a pinch of salt, especially in its claim that GEJ said openly that MEND categorically was not responsible. MEND have already come out to say they were responsible and that security forces were forewarned.

Which one is it? the claim that GEJ said why would they blow up the OPPORTUNITY THEY HAVE NOW. It is so clear that it is trying to suggest that a vote for Jonathan is a vote for MEND.

londoner:

@Gbawe, I read that, but how come no reputable SOURCE is reporting it? If he actually said that at the Ecowas address, why has it not been widely reported in other press?

When I google searched it, it is only a few web based "news" sites that make that claim.

Was there be no television crews in the Ecowas address, as there always is?

Until I see it in respectable media houses, I will take the report with a pinch of salt, especially in its claim that GEJ said openly that MEND categorically was not responsible. MEND have already come out to say they were responsible and that security forces were forewarned.

Which one is it? the claim that GEJ said why would they blow up the OPPORTUNITY THEY HAVE NOW. It is so clear that it is trying to suggest that a vote for Jonathan is a vote for MEND.

dude, what on earth are you going on about - 234next is not a 'reliable publication' ?

234next is not on same pedestal as the vanguard/punch and guardian media houses.
if it was @ Ecowas meeting he said it I think it should be on other media houses.
thank God N.E.P.A just gave us ''light'', I will try check if channels news go carry the news.

@OYB, which other news agency/ outlet has it been reported on, (apart from those those quoting 234 Next)?

Do you know this ECOWAS address is not even on the ECOWAS website in the press release section?

I'm not saying he didn't say it or address it, but its pretty suspect that it is not being reported widely at all.

usbcable:

234next is not on same pedestal as the vanguard/punch and guardian media houses.
if it was @ Ecowas meeting he said it I think it should be on other media houses.
thank God N.E.P.A just gave us ''light'', I will try check if channels news go carry the news.

londoner:

@OYB, which other news agency/ outlet has it been reported on, (apart from those those quoting 234 Next)?

Do you know this ECOWAS address is not even on the ECOWAS website in the press release section?

you fellows keep forgetting that unlike the 'old and reliable ' newspapers, next has no problems with pushing the envelope

234next is the ONLY paper that had the guts to report what we all knew - that GEJ was brain dead in saudi arabia

it is also quite concievable that mend copied all the papers in their email, and they failed to report it.

in marc or aprl this year, vangaurd must have been warned about the press confrence hat mend bombed, but they didn't report that either

234next is the closest thing we have in nigeria right now to uncompromised reporting.

@Oyb, noted, but why is it that no other news outlet is reporting this statement that was made at a ECOWAS address?

I'm talking CNN etc, ?

If Jonathan indeed said this, its pretty inflammatory and believe me, the media would be shouting it from the hills.

I'm not just talking about Nigerian media houses here. Why is this address not on the Ecowas website along with all the other speeches/addresses?

Maybe it was said, but it would not have been a tip off or a secret meeting, but an Ecowas address so they say, I wonder if anyone can provide a link of the actual address to see what was said?