"Stop Ridiculing Jonathan": Ex-Ministers Blasts Buhari

Ministers, who served under former President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, tackled President Muhammadu Buhari on his on-going probe of his immediate predecessor. They asked the president to stop unwarranted attacks on Jonathan and show due respect to him and his administration.

The Presidency, in its reaction, however, took a swipe at the former ministers, saying they should reflect on the kind of government they handed over to the present government.

This happened on a day the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) listed new cases of looting under the Jonathan administration. The party said the corruption mess that characterized the Administration was so pervasive that until it was cleaned, Nigeria will not be able to actualize her potential.

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The former officials in a joint statement released in Abuja, yesterday, and signed by former National Planning Minister, Dr Abubakar O. Suleiman, pointed out that while Buhari and his party, the APC had the right to chart their path, they considered the vilification of the Jonathan’s administration as ill-intentioned, unduly partisan and in bad faith.

They maintained that it was wrong for the Buhari administration to cast aspersion on Jonathan and the ministers who worked under him, deliberately discrediting the monumental achievements and the innovative measures it adopted to tackle corruption in the country.

They said it was also wrong for the new administration to portray each and every member of the Jonathan administration as corrupt and irresponsible.

The former ministers, who boasted that they served Nigeria diligently and to the best of their ability, pointed out that the results of their sweat was what Nigerians now enjoy under the Buhari administration and should be so applauded rather than being vilified.

They insisted that contrary to the claim by the APC, Jonathan did not encourage corruption. He rather devised means and measures to stamp out corruption within the context of the rule of law.

While calling on Buhari to carry out the probe of whoever he wants to probe, the ministers advised that such inquiry must, however, follow due process and respect for human rights.

Stop ridiculing Jonathan