The invitation of All Progressives Congress (APC) to President Goodluck Jonathan to join the party is an acknowledgment of his sterling leadership qualities, the Presidency said on Wednesday.
Speaking with State House Correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati described the invitation as a compliment.
“The APC Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande’s invitation has shown that leaders of the opposition party recognise that Jonathan is presently the best man for the job,” he said.
However, he criticised leaders of the new party leaders for forming a party only to realise that they do not have a credible candidate.
“I think it is a compliment. What Chief Akande has said in essence is that President Jonathan is the best man for the job.
“They formed a party only to realise they don’t have a candidate. We thank him for his acknowledgment of the president’s leadership qualities, but the president is happy where he is.
“We thank Chief Akande for his expression of confidence in President Jonathan’s credibility but the president is happy where he is, as a member and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party to which he remains loyal, and under the umbrella of which he is leading a transformation agenda for the betterment of the lives of Nigerians.”
In the same vein, Mr Tony Okeke, Acting Publicity Secretary of the PDP said the invitation is an sign that APC has no faith in its own leaders to steer the affairs of the nation. In his words,“The attention of the leadership of the PDP has been drawn to the call by proponents of the opposition APC for President Goodluck Jonathan to join their fold.
“By so doing, the APC has clearly admitted that it has looked within itself and discovered the bitter truth that it has no presidential material.
“By calling President Goodluck Jonathan to join it, the APC has shown that it has no confidence in the leadership abilities of its prominent leaders such as General Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
“The party has looked inwards and has realised the bitter truth that none of those in its fold has the required credentials, charisma and competence to be president hence they have been seeking to poach from the PDP.
“The APC has clearly vindicated the PDP by openly showing that it is a confused and clueless party, lacking in ideology and in dire need of leadership. It is only a gathering of confused persons that will at one moment falsely condemn somebody as inept and incompetent and the next moment they are begging the same person to come and join them”.
Lending his voice to the APC invitation, Dr. Doyin Okupe said, “The invitation to Jonathan was enough proof that the APC lacked the human resource to provide good and effective governance for the nation and would always have to depend on the PDP for leadership in all ramifications.”
“While it is not out of place for political parties to make overtures to those they believe have the capacity to assist them gain greater acceptability among the electorate, it is noteworthy that this invitation is being extended to a sitting President who was elected on the platform of another political party and whose unquestionable performance in the last two years have often been derided by this same political cynics.”
“It is noteworthy that in extending its invitation to the President, the National Chairman of the APC made reference to what he called “crisis rocking the PDP”; forgetting that the real test of leadership is not in running away from crisis but in resolving them firmly and fairly.”
“The very nature of democratic politics envisages conflict of ideas, interests and aspirations which must be aggregated for the overall good of the public and which all true leaders must be mentally and emotionally prepared to tackle.”
“This is why Mr President has continued to pursue the Transformation Agenda with zeal, focus and unequalled determination despite the enormous security challenges mostly orchestrated by elements in the opposition political party who had hoped that the ship of the Nigerian nation would not stay afloat under the first President ever produced from a minority ethnic group.
“Unlike the APC whose chairman confessed, was just putting together its manifestoes and leadership structure, the PDP which produced the President has pursued and currently executing a definite blue print to take Nigeria out of the woods of economic stagnation and social deprivation, with verifiable degrees of success in the last two years”
“The invitation to the President is APC`s open declaration of its unpreparedness, it is apparent to Nigerians that this new political party is directionless, lacking substance, and without a clear purposeful leadership”.