(http://www.channelstv.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Jonathans-aviation-policy.jpg)Despite a disparaging response from the Presidency on Sunday, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has insisted that the administration of President Jonathan is becoming 'despotic', claiming the that the new aviation policy lends credence to the administration's growing despotism. (http://www.channelstv.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Jonathans-aviation-policy-300x195.jpg) (http://www.channelstv.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Jonathans-aviation-policy.jpg)According to the party, the new aviation policy (http://www.channelstv.com/home/2013/05/03/fg-launches-revised-aviation-policy-to-ensure-air-safety/) which stipulates that owners of private jets can only carry members of their families aboard is "another hallmark of emerging despotism" of the Jonathan administration. "Aviation is global, yet nowhere in the world has this kind of policy been put in place, and it is simply impracticable'' the party said in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary; Lai Mohammed. ''Whoever is still in doubt about the transmogrification of the Jonathan Administration should have a second thought. This policy could only have been designed to satisfy the yearning for absolute power by a democratically-elected President who will not hesitate to subject his compatriots to tyrannical rule,'' it said. The party called on aviation experts to speak out on the new policy, with a view to educating the administration and those it has put in charge of the country's aviation sector on the implication of such a policy, before Nigeria is made an object of ridicule in the critical global aviation sector. ''In the meantime, we wager that in the not-too-distant future, the real reason for the policy will become clear to all, and it will be anything but in the national interest'' the party said. Blind Defence Reacting to the response from the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity; Dr Reuben Abati on its initial claim that the President is becoming a despot over its clamp down on press and a host of other issues, ACN wondered how the President's spokesman, who as usual rushed to the blind defence of his boss over whether or not he is fast becoming an Emperor, will rationalize a policy that is unprecedented and impracticable, and could only have been formulated with some devilish intentions. Dr Abati in his response dismissed reference to Dr Jonathan as a despot, claiming statements from the opposition party was a "misleading statement" and "an attempt to indulge in the politics of abuse."
The President's aide further explained that President Jonathan is "running a people oriented, inclusive and progressive government and has consolidated the scope of human freedoms.
He than asked whether the ACN spokesman knows "the meaning of the word despotism or is he just is throwing the word around for onomatopoetic effect", adding that Mr Mohammed and his sponsors are "in fact beneficiaries of the openness and the freedom that this administration promotes."
However, Mr Mohammed in his response to the description of President Jonathan's administration as a "democratically elected leader who is running a people-oriented, inclusive and progressive government", noted that ''words are cheap!" "We will like to know how the kind of controversial and oppressive aviation policy put in place by the Jonathan Administration will expand the scope of human freedoms, when in fact it has stifled such! We will also like to know how such a policy signifies respect for due process and the rule of law, when all it does is to negate the best practices in the global industry,'' the party said.
Via: ChannelsTV