Speaking at a roundtable, tagged: “The Other Side of Goodluck Jonathan-led Administration,” organised in Abuja, on Sunday, he revealed that his administration created a positive atmosphere for political parties to merge into a mega party.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim, he said his policy of promoting freedom of association and speech created the necessary enabling environment for opposition to thrive.
The president dismissed suggestions that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was scared of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying that the ruling party could not have been afraid of its own creation.
“President Jonathan believes strong opposition is good for our democracy. Opposition should be very grateful to Mr President. Say whatever you want to say, it doesn’t matter, we enjoy it,” Ayim declared.
He also noted that the administration had promoted the right to vote and be voted for and strengthened the sanctity and integrity of democracy by ensuring that votes counted.
According to Anyim, the president prided his administration as “one which accommodates insults and abuses from the people, without having to reprimand anyone.”
He observed that in spite of the negative comments against Jonathan and his government, there was no political prisoner in the country.
Anyim added that the administration had refrained from interfering in the affairs of the National Assembly and had also allowed the legislature to enjoy complete independence.
The conference featured speeches by people mainly from the private sector, speaking on the achievements of President Jonathan in different sectors of the economy and calling on Nigerians to stick with him by returning him for another tenure in office.
Among the important personalities present were Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bala Mohammed; Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo and the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Edem Duke.
No comments:
Post a Comment