National Chairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) Alhaji Balarabe Musa has blamed the political upheaval in Rivers State and the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) on President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term ambition which he said is harmful to Nigeria.
Musa, who alleged that Mr. Jonathan’s endorsement of the Governor Jonah Jang-led faction of the NGF was an indication that he was determined to return as President in 2015, said, “The Nigeria Governors’ Forum is a situation which implies the determination of the President to return as the President in 2015. There is no way the President can convince any reasonable and informed Nigerian that he has no hand in the ridiculous rejection of a free, fair and transparent election in which 35 governors participated.
“Jonathan’s ambition for second term is a blind ambition that can harm Nigeria because there is no way you can get whatever you want in Nigeria simply because you are the chief executive. Nigeria is not a Banana Republic.”
The Second Republic Governor of Kaduna State, who holds the unenviable record of the first governor ever to be impeached in Nigeria, added that the lingering crisis in Rivers State had its origins in the assumption that Amaechi would not support the president’s re-election bid in the forthcoming general elections.
He adduced the same reason for the denial of Mr. Timipre Silva’s second term as governor of Mr. Jonathan’s home state, Bayelsa.
“The whole crisis in Rivers State is about the ambition of the President for 2015 presidential election. The president is not happy with the disloyalty of Governor Rotimi Amaechi. He believes Amaechi, who is from his base-South-South-will not support him for the 2015 election. He had the same problem with the former governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Silva. It is for the reason he removed Silva. There is no way to interpret the crisis in Rivers State other than in terms of the ambition of the President,” he said.
Musa also called for true federalism in the country for the survival of democracy, noting that recent events in the country had shown the level to which the power of incumbency had been abused.
“It is my opinion that especially at the federal level, the power of the executive must be reduced, if not, the thought of democracy in Nigeria will be more fallacious than reality. If anybody who becomes President thinks he can do anything he wants, then we basically have a culture of impunity and we do not have democracy but civilian rule,” he said.
