Politics
Jonathan hits at Buhari, says he did not suppress opposition in his time
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has continued his latest rounds of veiled attack on the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
the former president stated that during his time as president, there was no detention of critics or the opposition figures.
The former President also claimed all decisions made during his tenure had no ethnic or religious colouration.
Jonathan, who spoke at the annual dinner of the Nigerian Lawyers Association in New York at the weekend, insisted that Nigerian leaders must resist the temptation of pursuing narrow agendas based on regional interests as the nation belongs to all.
Jonathan, whose statement was tweeted on his Twitter handle, @GEJonathan, said: “No matter what my critics said about me, I ensured that there was both freedom of speech and freedom after the speech.”
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“Under my watch, not a single Nigerian was sent to prison because of anything they wrote or said about me or the administration. Nigeria had neither political prisoners nor political exile under my administration. We enacted the Freedom of Information Act and by that we tore the veil of secrecy covering governance.”
“We gave institutions unlimited freedom and ensured that the NBA (Nigerian Bar Association) and other professional institutions were devoid of any government influence, we enacted the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 to promote efficient management of criminal justice institutions in Nigeria”, he tweeted.
Continuing, the former President said he appointed most of his top aides from different ethnic nationalities while also ensuring that appointments into the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, were not based on personal relationship.
Jonathan’s comment is coming on the heels of growing concerns over allegations of a systematic clamp down on opposition figures in the country and continued harassment of critics of the Buhari administration.
By Timothy Enietan-Matthews….
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yanju omotodun
October 31, 2016 at 8:21 am
Jonathan is not a politician at all. He just got to power with luck. Though during his time truly, he didn’t suppress opposition which somehow led to his downfall .
Amarachi Okoye
October 31, 2016 at 3:54 pm
Don’t say that the Jonathan i know is a full politician because his government is a great one.That Jonathan want peace that why he left buhari to take over if not Jonathan would have run for the second time
JOHNSON PETER
October 31, 2016 at 8:27 am
Jonathan is now a national and international hero. Almost every time he is being called upon to deliver speech at seminars, conferences and meetings. I urge him to stop hitting hard on buhari’s government.
Amaka Okoro
October 31, 2016 at 4:31 pm
No wone is hitting hard on buhari just that they want him to put things right in is government
princewill ebuka
October 31, 2016 at 8:59 am
The statement GEJ made about freedom of speech is totally true. but now you say something, the dss would be at your door. Buhari is a tyrant, he has failed to understand that, this is a democratic era
Nonso Ezeugo
October 31, 2016 at 4:40 pm
Buhari should stop fooling him self because in this democratic era we want things to be done in the rightful way