Jonathan
• Civil servants condemn recall, urge cabinet reshufflement
• Metuh denies conspiracy against ex-President
The immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan has described as “absurd” attempt by the current administration to link him with the scandalous return of Abdulrasheed Maina to the country and also his reinstatement into a senior position in the public service.
The former president, who spoke though his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze, said the claim by the Presidency was ridiculous.He said the fact that efforts were being made to link him to the return and reinstatement of Maina underscored how “unco-ordinated and rudderless” the Buhari administration has become.
“Are they saying it is former President Jonathan that flew him back into Nigeria and promoted him in two levels ahead of where he was as at 2013 when he fled from the civil service.
“They should stop insulting Nigerians or seeing them as fools”, Jonathan said.In a related vein, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has expressed sadness surrounding the reinstatement of Maina.
The association has, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to reshuffle his kitchen cabinet and instill sanity into the inner core of his administration by sacking those who are bent on ruining his reputation as a man of integrity.
In a statement by its Secretary-General, Alade Bashir Lawal, the union posited that the consistent and persistent acts of impunity by some powerful individuals in the cabinet had continued to embarrass the government.
The civil servants said that if President Buhari does not act to replace some of his personal aides that are besmearing the image of his government, the impression would continue to be created that he may be privy to their ignoble acts.
In another development, the embattled former National Publicity Secretary of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Olisah Metuh, has said that he has not bargained for freedom by conspiring with the powers that be to rope in former President Jonathan in his corruption trial.
In a statement yesterday, Metuh said he was taken aback by allegations from Save Ijaw Nation group that he was acting a script.The group had alleged that the order given by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court was a means of letting Metuh off the hook, and that the former publicity secretary surrendered himself to be used to drag down former President Goodluck Jonathan and impugn on his character and person.Metuh claimed innocence of the allegations, stated that he has no reason to negotiate with anybody to be let free of a non-existent hook.insisting that in or out of office, he has immense respect for the former President, “whom I served diligently without any apologies.”
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