20th June, 2012
Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
Spokesman of the Jonathan administration, Labaran Maku,has further dismissed the opposition criticism of President Jonathan’s attendance of the Rio de Janeiro earth Summit, when two cities in the country were strife torn.
Maku, at a press conference in Abuja today after the Federal Executive Council meeting debunked the critics’ position, saying that the absence of President Goodluck Jonathan from the country has not affected government business in any way.
Both the Action Congress of Nigeria and Congress for Progressive Change and some notable Nigerians said the President’s trip to Brazil was ill-timed and he himself, insensitive because of the violence raging in some parts of the country was a demonstration of high degree of insensitivity.
“The decision by the President to travel two days after dozens of innocent Nigerians, including women and children, were killed or maimed by suicide bombers in Kaduna state, is a “sign of insensitive and confused leadership” ACN said in a statement issued yesterday.
CPC also said the trip to Brazil by the President was a like desertion of duty despite the “gloomy atmosphere pervading the country.”
But Maku speaking today borrowed the reaction of former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mike Aondoakaa, to criticisms said when the late President Umaru Yar’dua left the country without handing over to the then Vice President Jonathan. Like Aondoakaa, Maku said ‘the President can rule from anywhere in the world’.
He added that in spite of the President’s absence from the country, the government had everything under control as relates to the state of insecurity in some parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday announced that a new housing policy that will lead to building of an average of one million housing units annually has been approved.
Maku said the policy, anchored on private sector participation, will lead to development of mass housing in the country and the creation of new jobs in the construction sector.
The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms Ama Pepple also told journalists that the new policy would address the housing problem of low-income earners and “the poorest of the poor’’ in the society.
She said that the new policy incorporates maintenance of houses built under the scheme.
The Minister also said the government is introducing Public-Public Partnership programme on housing and that different ministries were collaborating to build mass housing units for workers under the initiative.