Atiku’s son lambasts Amaechi for attacking Jonathan

Mustapha, a prominent son of a former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, has launched an attack on the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, for verbally castigating President Goodluck Jonathan.

Amaechi had on Saturday stated that Jonathan should not be referred to as his brother for failing to execute any project in Rivers State.

But the ex-VP’s son carpeted Amaechi for making what he called unguarded statements, noting that the governor was not the only one witnessing Jonathan’s alleged incompetence.

Accusing Amaechi of criticizing Jonathan “irresponsibly” with “no sense of decorum,” Mustapha asked him to take a cue from his colleague and fellow party member in Edo State, Governor Adams Oshiomhole, whom he described as a “mature leader.”

Writing on Twitter, Atiku’s son argued that despite Jonathan’s alleged incompetence, the President deserves respect from all governors irrespective of party affiliations.

“I remember very well that Amaechi was one of Jonathan’s biggest supporters for a while. Amaechi is not the only one who sees or talks about GEJ’s incompetence, but he’s the one who criticizes irresponsibly the most.

“But whenever Amaechi talks on the President, he does so with no sense of decorum, which is wrong for a leader. Gov. Oshiomole always accords the President a rousing welcome whenever he visits his state. This is a mature leader,” Mustapha wrote on Twitter.

Mustapha, whose father is a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, however, insisted that he had “no love” for Jonathan.

According to him, “by the votes of Nigerians and the will of God” Jonathan must return to his country home in Otuoke, Bayelsa State, come 2015.

Urging Nigerians to “shine your eyes,” the Turakin Adamawa’s offspring stated that the raising of committees and various subcommittees by Jonathan for his presidential declaration would not prevent him from losing his reelection bid.

“Look, former military President Ibrahim Babangida filled the Eagle Square, Abuja to the brim during his (presidential) declaration in 2011. Governors and all sorts of people attended but we know where his journey ended. Mr. President’s declaration may surpass that of Atiku, Buhari, and Kwankwaso combined, but it doesn’t make him more popular,” he added.

He also criticised First Lady Patience Jonathan describing her as “an embarrassment to the Presidency.”

Meanwhile, the Presidency has said that Jonathan has “no enemies to fight” going from various scathing criticisms of his administration.

Special Assistant to the President on New Media, Reno Omokri, said the President’s declaration slated for November would not be used to attack personalities, adding that the event would be issue-based.

“I have no enemies to fight. We are one people from the womb of one Nigeria,” Omokri quoted the President as saying on Twitter

“By definition a declaration ought to be a platform to tell the electorate your plan for their betterment, not a platform to attack others.”

In a veiled reference to the defection of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, who on Tuesday defected from the PDP to the APC, the Presidency noted that Jonathan was not moved, stating that the President’s achievement in office would earn him a reelection in 2015.

“Between 1998 and today, many changed political parties many times than they changed cars. But Jonathan has been stable. He (Jonathan) never jumps ship! In our centenary year we became Africa’s largest economy.

“Besides, Nigeria’s male and female national teams are football champions. Nigeria also contained Ebola. Let us be proud of these achievements,” Omokri added.

Meanwhile, Mustapha also threw his weight behind a suit filed before Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court challenging the eligibility of President Jonathan and his deputy, Namadi Sambo, to seek re-election in the 2015 presidential election.

The plaintiffs have argued that by the virtue of the oaths taken by Jonathan and Sambo following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2010 and their subsequent re-election in 2011, both of them were deemed to have completed the two terms allowed by law.

The ex-VP’s son said, “This is simple: the constitution says you can’t be President for more than eight years. If he wins the polls, he will spend more than that. Does the constitution allow an individual to be President for more than eight years?

“I am waiting to see how our judiciary will allow President Jonathan to contest. Nigerians and God know he is ineligible.”