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PDP to Clinton: You spoke out
of point
From JACOB EDI, Abuja
Friday, August 14, 2009
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Photo:
The Sun Publishing |
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Barely 24 hours after the visit of Hilary Clinton, US Secretary
of State, the leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party
[PDP] has said she spoke out of point and that her comments were
based on misinformation by those who PDP says are against the government
of President Umaru Yar’Adua.
PDP insisted that Clinton’s remarks about the failure of government
in Nigeria was not conceptualized and wondered if Clinton’s
visit was to confer legitimacy on those who had vowed not to see
anything good in the efforts of President Yar’Adua to move
the nation forward.
“We are concerned that some of her remarks are not only way
off the mark but also based on misinformation.
“Her sweeping statements on what she calls a ‘failure
of leadership’ does not correspond with the reality of
present day Nigeria where a committed leadership operating within
the realm of the rule of law holds sway” PDP noted in a statement
signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Professor Rufai Ahmed
Alkali.
PDP said the Nigerian government had maintained a cordial relationship
with the US government even though some analysts had considered
President Barrak Obama’s recent visit to Ghana a slight on
Nigeria. The PDP said Obama’s visit was rather seen as a welcome
development considering the shared history and values between Nigeria
and Ghana.
“While we recognize that the task ahead of us is enormous
and that the present situation can be improved upon, we find her
condescending statements against our country and leaders not contextualized.
“Mrs. Clinton seems to have taken her briefs from individuals
or groups and other failed politicians who have an axe to grind
with the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We do not
want to believe that her mission to Nigeria was meant to confer
legitimacy to these groups who are pursuing narrow interests within
the Nigerian political environment,” the PDP statement insisted.
The party, however, admitted Yar’Adua inherited several challenges
which it claimed “were entrenched in the body polity
for a long time,” adding that “Since assumption of office
in May 2007, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has demonstrated
a rare but firm commitment to right the wrongs of the past, using
constitutional instruments in order to strengthen democratic governance
in the Country.”
The party described the President’s seven point agenda as
a tool for national rebirth and the government’s response
to observed lapses caused by the inadequacies of the past saying
that the commitment of the government to peace in the Niger Delta,
fight against corruption, the rule of law, protection of citizen’s
rights and electoral reform are too apparent to be ignored.
The party, therefore, called on Nigeria’s international partners
to continue seeking ways of nurturing the nation’s nascent
democracy “through constructive engagement and not focusing
on issues capable of undermining our sovereignty or straining long
established relations,” the PDP warned.
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