PDP pleads with NBA, accuses ACN of incitement
Govt gives scorecard, marks 100 days in office Sept 5
Defends stance on Libya as fighting rages in Tripoli
FOR the second time in two days, the Presidency yesterday defended its stance in the crisis rocking the country's judiciary.
It said its involvement in the former Court of Appeal President, Justice Ayo Salami's feud with the National Judicial Council (NJC) did not remove the powers of the judiciary to resolve the matter within the context of the nation's laws.
The Presidency also listed its achievements since its inauguration on May 29, declaring that inflation had dropped and a significant rise in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), expansion of oil production, rise in foreign reserves, increase in power generation and stability in supply. According to the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the judiciary remains the final arbiter in the fued. Abati told journalists in Abuja yesterday that what President Goodluck Jonathan had done was to provide a soft landing for Salami and to avoid a vacuum at that level of the Bench.
He explained that Jonathan's action on the NJC's recommendation for the retirement of Salami over his refusal to apologise to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu was based on respect for the independence of the judiciary and the need to ensure stability in the appellate court.
The Presidency also said the position of the Federal Government on Libya "is consistent with its principles as a nation. Nigeria respects the will of the Libyan people, that the wishes of the people be respected."
Abati, who spoke with journalists at the Presidential Villa, insisted that the President, by approving an acting President of the Court of Appeal, had prevented a vacuum in the senior Bench, declaring that Jonathan's critics want him to act outside the confines of the law.
Abati asserted that those criticising the President of acting, solely were doing it for selfish reasons.
Also yesterday, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accused the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) of inciting Nigerians through double speak on the Salami saga.
In a statement in Abuja by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, the party alleged that ACN had been inciting Nigerians and playing politics with judicial matters and appealed to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to review its stance on the crisis.
But the Founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Frederick Fasehun, has questioned rationale behind the sack of Salami by the NJC.
Fasehun, who spoke with journalists yesterday in, Okota, Lagos, expressed the dismay of OPC over the poor representation of Yoruba in national politics, stressing that Salami's ordeal would be setting a bad precedent in the country.
Abati noted that the same group of people who are criticising Dr. Jonathan now for not allowing a vacuum would be the same group of people who would accuse him of doing nothing in the face of the crisis in the judiciary.
Abati said: "It is the duty of the judiciary, within the frame-work of the law, to resolve the issue. The actions taken by the President were pursuant to the rule of law. The problem is that everyone in Nigeria has turned a judge. And the President has been made a scapegoat. The President has prevented a vacuum. The Acting President of the Court of Appeal is there in an acting capacity until all issues are fully resolved. If the President had not acted, he would have been criticised. And in taking the action he did, he is being criticised. But the President has taken this action in the best interest of Nigeria in order to ensure stability in the appellate court."
The presidential aide said what the critics fail to realise is that "the principle of independence of the arms of government has to be respected."
He claimed that "the people criticising him (President) are dictating to the President on what to do outside the confines of the law. And these people are doing so for their own selfish interest."
On the criticisms trailing Nigeria's position on the Libyan crisis, he said Nigeria is not worried as the attack is from the African National Congress (ANC) and not the South African government.
"The position of Nigeria on Libya is consistent with its principles as a nation. Nigeria respects the will of the Libyan people, that the wishes of the people be respected. And the President expects reconciliation to be the focus of the interim government in Libya."
He said Nigeria has every right, as a sovereign nation, to take a position on any foreign policy issue as it deems fit.
He also spoke on the coming 100 days landmark for the Jonathan administration on September 5.
According to him, the President's team has been "very busy and productive, guided by the resolve that Nigerians want issues addressed."
He listed the items the government had been able to deliver to Nigerians, adding that "we are making these issues public to dispel the pessimism that nothing is happening. We like to imagine the worst about our situation. But the President believes that Nigerians should appreciate basic gains. Denying these gains will not help."
He said Nigerians would come to appreciate the efforts of the President in no time, stating that "when the cabinet was first announced, commentators said this is a very weak cabinet. But they are now saying this is a very strong team after all."
The areas the government had made progress, according to Abati, are shoring up foreign reserves by 10 per cent to $34 billion; GDP growth rate from 6.7 per cent in May to 6.9 per cent in July of 2011; declaration of Nigeria as two of the top three investment destinations of choice in Africa by the independent Africa Business Panel in The Netherlands; the President's approval of the pioneer board for the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NEBT) Plc in the effort to stabilise power supply by facilitating smooth operations between independent power producers and distribution companies; the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) starting of Mass Transit Train Services in five of the six geo-political zones with the sixth zone coming on stream soon; the setting up of the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) that has facilitated direct investments in infrastructure with power and roads being the priority areas.
Others are national cohesiveness, reduction in election disputes, rule of law, setting up of the Nigerian Vehicle Credit Purchase Scheme, the take off of the process of establishing a World Trade and International Business Centre in Lagos, starting of the process for backward integration in sugar and rice production to ensure self-sufficiency, launch of the Campaign Against the Importation of sub-Standard Products, the National Automobile Council setting up an Automotive Development Fund to provide long-term loans to resuscitate the automobile industry and generate jobs, bid to set up 37 skill acquisition centres nationwide, approval for genuine foreign investors to obtain visas at the point of entry to facilitate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), completion of model skills training centres in Abuja, boosting of the Amnesty Programme, and expansion of oil production by 20 per cent to reclaim its position as Africa's largest oil exporter, which the country lost to Angola.
Abati also said Nigeria set a new record by being recognised by the Organisation of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July as the second largest oil exporter in the cartel second only to Saudi Arabia.
It is the first time Nigeria has recorded such a feat, he said, adding that inflation rate has been reducing as the administration enforces tighter fiscal policies.
In June, the Consumer Price Index revealed an inflation rate of 10.2 per cent, which dropped to 9.4 per cent in July being the lowest rate in the last four years, he said.
The PDP said as a law-abiding party, it had refrained from commenting on judicial issues even when it is at the receiving end of such actions. It said the position is founded on the party's firm belief that the sanctity of the judiciary must not be dragged into the murky waters of negative politics.
"Akali said Jonathan is committed to the principle of separation of powers and always avoided undue interference.
"Sadly, events in the last few weeks have once again shown that some politicians still do not acknowledge the boundaries between politics and national interest obviously because of their narrow and selfish objectives. We have witnessed alarming situations where leaders of an opposition political party, CAN, are openly inciting civil society organisations, professional bodies and other unsuspecting Nigerians against the judiciary and the Federal Government of Nigeria."
The party therefore appealed to Nigerians and NBA in particular "not to be misled by persons with questionable motives, who wish to soil the image of our judiciary, which is the last hope of the common man."
NBA has threatened to boycott the swearing-in of new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) in Abuja today while some other civil groups have organised protests over the Salami saga.
The Guardian