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'Hold President Jonathan Responsible If Ebola Spreads' – APC

Published

10 years ago

August 31, 2014

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused President Jonathan of allegedly failing to stop a rally in his support in Port Harcourt on Saturday, August 30a despite warning from individuals and groups of the possible spread of Ebola Virus.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged Nigerians to hold President Jonathan responsible if the deadly Ebola more than it has done in the country.
The APC in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said never before has a President of a country sabotaged his own Administration’s policy and endangered the lives of his compatriots as President Jonathan has done over the issue of Ebola.
It said the same President who declared a national emergency on Ebola and advised against large gatherings to prevent the spread of the virus was the first to flout his own advice by his failure to stop the rally by the so-called Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) in Port Harcourt, a few days after the virus was detected in the city and at a tiEme that contact tracing was going on to find all those who may have had contact with the medical doctor victim of the disease.
”On the altar of political desperation, President Jonathan put the lives of Nigerians in danger. In order to realize his ambition for re-election, President Jonathan has shown he is ready to sacrifice as many lives of Nigerians as possible. There goes the President’s statement that his political ambition is not worth the blood of any
Nigerian. This President simply says what he doesn’t mean.
”As we said in our statement of Aug. 28th 2014 calling on President Jonathan to halt the TAN rallies, especially the one in Port Harcourt, could anyone guarantee that none of those who have had contact with the medical doctor who died of the disease will attend the rally? That is why we are calling on Nigerians to hold the President responsible if Ebola spreads more than it has in the country,” APC said.
The party said shortly after it made the call for a halt to the TAN rallies, others, including the NBA and Prof. Itse Sagay, in a clearly patriotic duty, issued similar calls.
”In fact, the APC in Rivers described such a rally most appropriately as a ‘firing squad against the people’. But because he will rather be re-elected than give a damn over the safety of the same people who voted him into office, because he will rather transmogrify than transform, President Jonathan ignored all the calls and allowed the rally to hold. This is an unprecedented act of political
desperation,” it said.
APC said for those who might try to spin the issue by saying the President has no control over the organizers of the rally, they should be asked who the rallies will benefit, whose top officials, including Secretary to the Government Anyim Pius Anyim, have been attending the rallies and what is the source of the funding of the gatherings.
”The TAN rallies are government-sanctioned. The TAN rallies are the Jonathan Administration’s cunning way of beating the INEC ban on campaigns for next year’s general elections.
The TAN rallies highlight the impunity of the Jonathan Administration. President Jonathan is the sole beneficiary. He can stop the rallies today, if only he wants to put the nation’s interest above his own personal interest,” the party said.
Meanwhile on Friday, August 29, the Rivers state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) blamed the state Governor, Rotimi Amaechi for the spread of Ebola Virus to the state.
On Thursday, August 28, Nigeria’s health minister Onyebuchi Chukwu confirmed the first recorded death from Ebola in Port Harcourt.
Late Dr. Iyke Enemou, who treated ECOWAS diplomat Olu Koye who was already infected with the Ebola Virus Disease died on August 22 in Port Harcourt after his health got worse.