ACN flays Jonathan for not visiting Lagos flood areas

Details: Category: Politics; Published on Monday, 18 July 2011 11:31; Written by Admin; Hits: 634

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has flayed President Goodluck Jonathan for not visiting Lagos State to commensurate with government and people of the state over the recent flood in parts of the state.

In a statement issued in London, yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party urged President Jonathan to be mindful of the fact that he is the president of all Nigerians, not only of the PDP and its supporters, and as such should see the entire country as his constituency. “Lagos is the economic heartbeat of Nigeria and home to all Nigerians, irrespective of their tribes, hence whatever affects Lagos touches every Nigerian one way or the other. How can the president be so quiet despite the devastating effect of an unusually heavy rainfall in Lagos on July 10th, in which 264mm of rainfall (a volume equivalent to what is usually recorded in one month of rainfall) was recorded in a single day, leading to massive flooding that claimed the lives of many residents and caused huge damage to property.

ACN “A president that is not too busy to receive all manner of people in Aso Rock has not deemed it fit to embark on a quick trip to a state as strategic as Lagos, after such a state was hit by a natural disaster. Even if the president and his advisers did not understand the symbolism of such a visit, they could have taken a cue from what obtains in other countries. In April 2010, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao both postponed planned overseas trips because of a strong earthquake in North western China. In April 2010, US President Barrack Obama visited flood-hit Massachusetts, and personally thanked emergency operation officials monitoring flooding in the state.

“He carried out a similar tour of tornado-hit Missouri this year. And in Nov. 2009, then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited flood-hit Cumbria in Northwest England to see the damage caused and show government support for the victims. These are instances to be emulated by any leader, who believes the people are the source of his powers. Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, who by the way, received massive votes in Lagos during the last elections, should not be an exception. Today marks the eighth day since the Lagos flooding, and President Jonathan has yet to visit the state or even comment on the incident. This is not right,’’ the party said.

ACN lamented that instead of the president’s party pointing him in the right path by encouraging him to visit Lagos after the flooding to show federal support and rally emergency service officials, especially the National Emergency Management Agency, the party (PDP) resorted to cheap politics by asking Governor Fashola to resign. The party commended Fashola and his team for their prompt response to the flood disaster, saying the state government’s show of concern for the victims and its quick intervention to alleviate their suffering went a long way in soothing their pains. (Daily Trust)