The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Bamanga Tukur
has described calls by the opposition for president Goodluck
Jonathan’s resignation as “ignorance.”
Tukur said this on Monday after returning from Canada where he
had gone on official assignment for three weeks.
He also reacted to the merger of opposition parties to form the All
Progressives Congress saying that the PDP remains focused.
The Premium Times reports thus:
The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, had, in a statement by
its spokesman, Lai Mohammed, on Sunday, asked the
president to resign if he does not have an answer to the
increasing security challenges facing the country.
The party chairman told journalists in Abuja that ACN made
the statement out of ignorance and noted that Americans have
not called on President Barack Obama to resign following the
security challenges in some part of the United States.
“This kind of talk is just ignorance. Is it the President that killed
the policemen? He’s not. If there is any security threat, the
security personnel will take care of that,” he said.
“The recent bomb blast that killed some people in America-
the people did not call President Obama to resign because of
that. Out of ignorance people say things. Opposition can say
anything if they like. I don’t think we will bother ourselves
about this.”
Mr. Tukur also disclosed that he laughed when he read reports
of his own resignation in the media three weeks ago while in
Canada.
“Of course I laughed when I heard about it,” he said. “I was in
Canada working to bring more business for our people. We
went to persuade these people to come and invest in our
country, to come and partner with us. We need development
because we are deficit in infrastructure, education, in health
among others. If they come, we will continue to reduce that
deficit,” he said.
Tukur commented on the APC merger saying it will not distract
the PDP, and also reacted to comments made by ex-militant,
Mujahid Dokubo-Asari who threatened bloodshed if Jonathan is
not re-elected president in 2015.
Tukur reacted saying “it is a wrong thing even to talk about war in
election.”
Continue with the report below:
On the merger of the opposition parties into APC, Mr. Tukur
said PDP never pretended that it was the only party and is not
distracted by the merger.
He said, “No, (PDP is not afraid) because PDP wants
democracy and PDP cannot pretend that they are the only
party that exists in the country. No. PDP recognizes the party,
association, whatever to work with it. But PDP is not
distracted by other parties coming together. No. PDP should
now find out what else they are not doing that the other
parties are doing in favour of their own members.
“In other places, at the beginning, it was ideology. We don’t
have ideology at the moment. Before, it was communism,
socialism. It was divided between the west and the east. It is
no longer there. Everybody knows that today, it is human
rights. That is your ideology – justice, democracy, equity.
These are the things. Now, how deep are you prepared to go
in practicalizing these issues that will now appeal to your
members so that they can continue supporting you. That is
the idea. It gingers you. If you are sleeping before, now you
wake up.
“PDP is under my watch. I believe that I can work with any
association simply because there is a competition, pure and
simple.”
He also dismissed a statement by a former Niger Delta
militant, Asari Dokubo, that there would be war if Mr. Jonathan
is not re-elected in 2015.
Responding to Mr. Dokubo’s outburst, the PDP national
chairman said it is wrong to talk about war in elections,
stressing that if elections are made a matter of controversy,
people would not take it serious.
“It is a wrong thing even to talk about war in election. Election
should be free. People elect who they want. So, election is
free. Election should not be something you say if this does not
happen, this will happen. Then it is no more election. Election
means, you offer yourself and they take you or they take
another one. Finish. That is what election means. Free and fair.
“So, if you make it a matter of controversy, it is you that
makes it controversial and I don’t think people will think
seriously about that issue because in our country, we say we
are going to do democracy. In our country, we say we are
free to go and offer ourselves. If we want election, nobody
will stop us. That’s all.
“So, if they bring something which is misunderstood, the
people should tell them, why are you fighting about election?
We thought we are in a democratic country. We offer
ourselves. So, don’t fight. When time comes to elect
according to your constitution, offer yourself.”

Tell it to Lia