If it is true that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, in conjunction with the Nigerian military is planning a major clampown on media organizations perceivet to be unfriendly, one would be correct to say that democracy is in trouble in this country.
Specifically, it was alleged that National Security Adviser to the president, retired Colonnel Sambo Dasuki, would be at the fore front of this purported plan.
According to a news alert, it was suggested that the aim of the plot is to effect the arrest of top management staff of some Nigerian privately owned media houses which included: The Punch, The Nation and Channels television.
The unedited News Alert reads: "News Alert: Once again am back here with some of the highlights of the Military meeting in Kaduna. Like I told you yesterday, the Military is doing everything possible to derail this democratic process.
"The representative of the Federal Government to the meeting today made it very clear that President Jonathan would never allow GMB to take over from him. Rather, the military body should be ready to take over govt on May 29.
"As preparation for this, the meeting came up with the plans to clampdown on some notable media organisations found to be crusading for the opposition. They specifically mentioned the Channels TV, The Nation and The Punch Newspapers as some of the media houses to be dealt with.
"He suggested ways to go about the clampdown including the arrest of notable management of these media organisations.
"The issue of Nigerian Sovereignty also came up in the light of an expected attacks and condemnation from international communities and organisation. To our surprise, IBB sent one Bob Caleb to the meeting to add some impetus.
"He came in around 12pm and left about 20 minutes later after holding some private brief with the NSA. The meeting continues tomorrow, but I can say that the country will witness some strange development in some weeks to come. Stay tuned."
But the presidency in its immediate response to the news alert refused the allegations that President Jonathan would rather hand over to the military on May 29 than handing over to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari.
Presidential spokesperson, Reuben Abati said, "Jonathan remained committed to democracy and the rule of law. That (the alert) is absolute nonsense. It is nothing but a sign of desperation on the side of certain elements with partisan interest.
"President Jonathan remains fully committed to democracy and the rule of law. He is a man who believes in one man one vote; one woman, one vote; one youth, one vote and the right of every Nigerian of voting age to exercise their franchise.
"One of the major achievements of this administration had been the conduct of free, fair and credible elections at all levels since 2011 and it is a legacy of which he is proud and he has made it clear that his ambition does not worth the blood of any Nigerian.
"It won’t happen under his watch that the gains of democracy will be reversed. He remains committed to transforming Nigeria so that democracy can be further consolidated and the rule of one man one vote will continue to be strengthened.
“I am saying categorically that the story is not true and cannot be true. It should not be taken seriously by anybody. What is clear is that there are a lot of unpatriotic, partisan and deliberate elements who are determined to heat up the polity for their own narrow and selfish purposes.
"But we say to such people that they should realise that this country is bigger than all of us. President Jonathan continues to call on all stakeholders to come together and work together to put Nigeria first always."
Picture file: DailyMail
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