From Chuks Collins, Awka
The Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria(TAN), an international advocacy group has commended President Goodluck Jonathan for reaffirming to Nigerians that scheduled inauguration of a new and fresh dispensation of his administration on May 29 remains sacrosanct.
The Director of Operations and Logistics of TAN, Chief Benchuks Nwosu made this commendation yesterday during a press briefing at the group’s headquarters in Abuja during a question and answer session with journalists.
According to the TAN boss, “juxtaposing Mr President’s avowal to the sanctity of the inauguration date with the clear debunking of any plans for what the opponents of Nigeria refer to as Interim National Government, by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, Nwosu said every patriotic citizen should remain optimistic about the nation always.
He wondered why the desperation within the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has evidently derailed them into conjuring only negative ideas and minds about the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP)-led federal government. It was such, he stated that “…if it is not ING, it would be that the Chairman of INEC, Prof Attahiru Jega has been sacked, or that plans were on to ensure the handover date never comes…”.
Nwosu appealed to APC’s Lai Mohammed, Malam Garba Shehu and such elements within their fold to have a change of perception and become tolerant of other individuals, saying after all we are in a pluralistic era where every citizen is entitled to his own opinion, not only APC. He pointed out that being so hasty in betraying their aggressive emotions about the country remain counter-productive because the more they display it, the more Nigerians distance themselves from APC.
Adoke had on Thursday asserted that President Jonathan cannot set up an interim national government to midwife the 2015 elections because there was no such provision in the nation?s constitution.
According to the Minister, the ?contraption of interim national government? is alien to the nation’s constitution and was therefore not an option at all.
The Minister acknowledged that, ?While I recognize and appreciate the inalienable right of Nigerians to freely express themselves and proffer solutions to perceived national challenges, I am deeply concerned that some undiscerning Nigerians are being unwittingly led to believe that a certain prescription, which is totally alien to the Constitution, can be adopted as viable solution to our national challenges.
?It has therefore become necessary to correct this misconception and refocus the citizenry on the path of constitutionalism and democratic tenets consistent with our quest for democratic consolidation in Nigeria. For avoidance of doubt, it is pertinent to state that the framers of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 did not envisage the constitution of Interim National Government to superintend over the affairs of Government. It is therefore not surprising to observe that no provision for Interim National Government was made in the Constitution. ?The contraption called ?Interim National Government? is therefore alien to Nigeria?s constitutional framework and the arrangement should not be promoted by well?meaning Nigerians under any guise or circumstance. Nigerians are therefore enjoined to continue to rely on the Constitution, which contains adequate provisions on how the democratic process can be activated to elect their leaders from time to time,? he stressed.
