Fashola dismisses Jonathan's PDP inauguration speech as irrelevant

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, has dismissed President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, campaign which held in Lagos on Wednesday.

He averred that it had become obvious that the president could no longer rule the country.

He made the remarks in Benin City, the Edo State capital on Thursday during the Edo Town Hall meeting organised by the All Progressives Congress, in which the party's vice presidential candidate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, spoke for about 29minutes.

Fashola said, “Today, you have listened to a vice presidential candidate telling you in 29 minutes many things you will never hear at a rally because the time for such discussions doesn’t exist for many Nigerian want to interrogate people making empty promises.

“But we chose to be different because we are bustling with ideas. We know ideas can change things. He (Osinbajo) has spoken to you for 29 minutes. He has been on this assignment for only three weeks and he has discussed power with you, he has discussed employment with you, he has discussed agriculture with you, he has discussed welfare scheme, health care, youth development with you without reading any speech. He has been there for three weeks only and he has not been yet elected.

“Now what is on the other side (PDP), because I spent about an hour listening to the president in my state? For almost the same period I saw a very angry president. I saw a president who is lamenting about people judging his performance and blaming all those who ruled before him, forgetting that he has been on this job for six years.

“And he kept saying ‘they say we don’t have a plan’ and for almost 45 minutes he did not reveal a plan on security, he did not reveal a plan on corruption. I listened to him. Now after six years without being able to articulate what he has done and what he will do but blaming everybody and forgetting that he is the Commander-in-Chief. If the kitchen is becoming too hot as it’s becoming obvious he must get out of it.

“This election is going to be about job approval. It is not about where you come from; it is not about how young he is; it is job approval after six years. Are you happy with your situation?

“So if after six years he has not been able to explain to you what he is doing with your time, with your resource – 52 % revenue formula, do you want to continue another four years.

“What many people do not know, which the PDP people agreed – God bless the soul of Late Umaru Yar’Adua, who said the election that brought him to power was flawed they rigged everything that was ‘riggable’. It was Professesor Osinbajo that challenged all of us saying ‘we can’t let this thing go without a challenge. Let us go and go get forensic expert because I believe that the ballot papers was thumb-printed not by legitimate voters and he brought somebody and one by one it showed where either the same person voted 100 times… they used palm kernel. That is the capacity of the man who wants to be your vice president.”

Mr Osinbajo while stressing the resolve of the APC to bring change to the country, said, "We must change everything that affects us in Nigeria and this is our opportunity. February 14, 2015 is that opportunity. We have no choice but to make a change. There is no time to waste. We have a great opportunity to change this country.

“Let us not assume that running this country is rocket science, that running this country is difficult. It is not. Other countries that have less resources than us are well run. All we need to do is to put people who know. I pray that God gives us the opportunity to run this country and the country will be unrecognisable in one year.”