Buhari’s govt tells lies at professional level – Jonathan

-Former President Jonathan claims President Buhari government is laden with propaganda and lies.

-He also criticises the current Minister of Works, Power and Housing for his underwhelming performance in office.

-He said these while receiving the national chairmanship aspirant for PDP, Prof. Tunde Adeniran.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has described the President Buhari-led administration as propaganda and a government full of lies.

Naija News gathered that Jonathan made this claim in Abuja on Thursday when he received one of the national chairmanship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, and members of his campaign team in his office. The party will hold its national convention in Abuja on December 9 to elect its national officers.

Jonathan said the solidarity being enjoyed by the party even though it lost election at the centre in 2015 showed that “there is something in the PDP.”

Jonathan also slammed the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), who as a state governor reportedly said that a serious government at the centre must be able to fix power within six months, noting that more than two years of APC in government under which Fashola is serving as a minister, the government had not been able to fix power.

Fashola who made the statement during Jonathan’s tenure is incidentally in charge of power today.

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Jonathan said the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, performed well for 16 years while the Buhari government had not done anything since it came to power on May 29, 2015.

“The PDP administration for 16 years did well and will continue to do well but this administration has done nothing. They deployed propaganda and lies at a professional level.

“In the power sector, we did well to revive it. A state governor attacked our government, saying that any serious government should be able to fix the power challenge within six months.

“Today, APC has been in power for how many years now? Fortunately the then governor is in the APC government as a minister.”

Jonathan therefore, added that the party would need a competent, reliable and courageous national chairman who would lead the party to victory come 2019.

“PDP needs a national chairman that will select credible and reliable candidates for various elective offices at the various levels of government from the presidency down to the councillorship.

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“We need a national chairman who will be courageous enough to caution the President if we win the Presidency and the President is going astray,” he said, adding that the expectation of the PDP was a “national chairman who will rule the party democratically and carry others along.”

Jonathan said that with his long interaction with Adeniran and testimonies of other party leaders, he has all the qualities to lead PDP effectively.

Jonathan warned that the outcome of the election should not bring division to the party.
“We must not come out of the convention divided. There should be no acrimony,” he said.

Adeniran, in his speech stressed the need to rebuild and reposition the PDP ahead of the 2019 general elections which informed his decision to contest for the seat.

“Nigerians are waiting. Till now, more than 3/5th of Nigerians are still sympathetic to the PDP,” he said.

On Adeniran’s delegation were former ministers, Abba Moro (Internal Affairs); Zainab Maina (Women Affairs); Jerry Gana (Information); and a two-time Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Friday Itulah, among others.

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When contacted, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, said that Jonathan did not have the right facts.

The minister, who spoke through his Senior Special Adviser on Communications, Hakeem Bello, saidt it was unfortunate to know that Jonathan would accuse the present government of not perofrming well in the power sector.

“It is unfortunate that the former President does not have his facts right. This is because there was nowhere that the current Minister of Power, Works and Housing and former Governor of Lagos State said he could fix Nigeria’s power challenges in six months.

“If he (Jonathan) needs clarification, we can provide that, instead of stating things that are not factual with respect to the minister and the power sector,” he said.