ACN Opposes Imposition Of State Of Emergency In The North, Asks President To Quit If….

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to shelve the plan, if he has any, to impose a state of emergency on some of the northern states worst hit by the Boko Haram crisis, saying any such move can only be aimed at giving an undue advantage to the PDP instead of helping to end the crisis.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said if the imposition of emergency rule on the most affected states is the only viable option left for President Jonathan to tackle the crisis, then he should step down.
It said the crisis has dragged on for so long because of the failure of the Jonathan Administration to appropriately diagnose the problem in the first instance, coupled with an exhibition of lethargy and an appalling lack of creativity in devising measures to end it.
”Perhaps President Jonathan should emulate late US President Harry Truman by putting a sign on his desk at Aso Rock that reads ‘The buck stops here’ to remind him that he bears the ultimate responsibility for the security situation in the country today, instead of any attempt to blame some state governors in the affected states.
”Imposing a state of emergency on the states that have been mentioned, like Borno, Yobe and Nasarawa States will amount to shifting responsibility and unduly victimizing the Governors of those states, who have done perhaps more than the President, in dealing with the crisis, even though they are not in charge of any security apparatus.
”It is important to state here that the President virtually abandoned the states as they reeled under the effects of the Boko Haram onslaught. For about two years after assuming office, he refused to visit the states until the APC Governors blazed the trail and left him with no option but to follow suit.
”It is also important to warn that since the listed states are not under the control of the PDP and – going by precedence – President Jonathan is sure to appoint card-carrying PDP members to preside over the affairs of the state in the event that he imposes emergency rule on them, it will amount to robbing the citizens of those states of their mandate and capturing more states for the PDP..
”In any case, the affected states are already heavily militarized with the massive deployment of troops there to battle the Boko Haram insurgency, and one wonders what else will change if they are put under emergency rule….beyond just removing elected officials like Obasanjo did wantonly during his tenure,” ACN said.
The party said if the President still finds the state of emergency option the most viable despite the arguments to the contrary, then he should go further by also putting Abuja, where the police headquarters, a military barracks and the UN complex have been bombed; the states in the south where kidnapping has become a daily occurrence as well as the areas where the nation’s crude oil are being stolen in millions of barrels under the state of emergency.
It advised President Jonathan to stick to dialogue in dealing with the Boko Haram crisis, with the hope that a determined pursuit of the new measures, rather than a half-hearted, made-for-klieg lights posturing, will help end the crisis.