Opposes new banquet hall
THE All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) Thursday canvassed a provision in the constitution compelling President Goodluck Jonathan to declare his assets.
Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Mr. Sam Saba, had on Tuesday this week blamed constitutional constraints as reason the CCB could not publicly reveal the assets declared by the president and other public officials.
The ANPP insists it would be in the interest of the country if the National Assembly amends the constitution in order to legally mandate the CCB to disclose the declared assets of President Jonathan and other public officers.
In a statement by the party's National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Emma Eneukwu, ANPP said, "we believe that this is in the interest of the nation as public declaration of the assets of the number one citizen will go a long way in regaining the fast-waning confidence of the people on the leadership of this great country."
On the recent approval by the Federal Executive Council to construct a new banquet hall in the Presidential Villa to the tune of N2.2 billion, ANPP described it as another wasteful venture.
"The reasons given for the project are as absurd as the unnecessary building itself. It was reported that Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Muhammed, said that the existing hall is not big enough and even smaller countries have better banquet halls near their presidential residences. The other excuse was that the existing hall is too far from the offices and residence of Mr. President at a distance of two kilometres; although people who know the terrain affirm that the said distance is actually not up to a kilometre.
"To be candid, it is horrifying and heartbreaking to see the leader of our great nation vividly exhibiting the habits depicted in the epic allegorical novella by George Orwell when the misruling pigs, led by Napoleon, declared that 'All animals are equal; but some are more equal than others.'
"How else can one view this new building project against the backdrop of the words of President Jonathan last year at the inauguration of the National Economic Council (NEC) when he told his countrymen and women to brace up for some level of hardships as he implements his administration's transformation agenda. He was quoted as saying that any meaningful transformation or reformation goes with some form of inconveniences, which are temporary.
"Our great party can only conclude by the sheer contradictions between his words and his actions that either he brazenly misleads the citizenry, or he is highly incompetent to lead a nation like ours in these trying times. Has the President forgotten the words he uttered thus, 'Let us all work together and see that we bear this little pain and transform our country so that we have hope for the future generation?'
"We wonder, can't he endure making the little distance between his office and the Presidential Banquet Hall? Can't he make-do with the so-called inconveniences of the present Banquet Hall, built just in 2003 and constantly renovated, until the economy improves, as he constantly admonishes us? Doesn't he realise that body language can be disastrous when it is misread, misunderstood, and misapplied, especially by a suffering and disillusioned people?
"What is more, we are reminded of the Central Bank of Nigeria governor's admonition to the nation on Monday when he advised the government to fire half of the civil service in order to save cost. We wonder which one is a better strategy, to save more money for the federation: taking away food from the mouths of Nigerian workers and their families, or taking away frivolous services and needless projects from the budget, like the planned new Banquet Hall by the government."
