Jonathan fulfilled campaign promises in 2012, claims Okupe

I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Doyin Okupe 'Jonathan Attack Lion" where he told me among other audience that President Jonathan delivered his  campaign promises in 2012, i can't but look back year 2012, where we had the worst of dividend of democracy, while many thanks to journalism "we are forced to listen to liars many times", here is my published work after the meeting Jonathan fulfilled campaign promises in 2012, claims Okupe   On fulfillment of campaign promises Jonathan's Okupe, refuted claims that President Jonathan has not fulfilled mos t of the promises he made to Nigerians during the election that brought him into power saying, he was optimistic that the year 2013 will be the "year of Nigeria's glory. He also added that Nigerians were seriously lamenting before the coming of Jonathan, but according to him, the lamentations have started to decrease. "To say that Nigerians lamented the most in 2012, that is not true. There were lamentations before. The President on assumption of office said the days of lamentations are over, so in gradual sequence, the lamentations started to decrease. Gladly enough, stage by stage, most of the promises he made are being fulfilled gradually. "2013 is a year of Nigeria's glory. The president has said it. Good things are coming to Nigeria. There will be growth in all ramifications. There will be regular power supply" he said.   On Boko Haram Okupe said even though the President has not foreclosed direct interface with the group, the dialogue would have to be constructive with highest level of sincerity. He said the Federal Government was not against dialogue but that the real representatives of the sect must first of all be identified before genuine dialogue can take place.  "I believe that most Nigerians are interested in dialogue and that this ultimately would be the best way of resolving the issue, but dialogue would have to be constructive. You have to identify genuine people and when the proper stage is set for dialogue, the government would surely be interested", he sai d. Even so, the President said more than 70% of the intended action of the sect is being foiled by security agencies, adding that Aso rock has the capability to secure and protect the people of the country. "The Federal Government has curtailed the insurgency, it's no longer escalating. There is containment with both the numbers and locations. Don't forget that insurgency is not easy to contain anywhere in the world, but the government has a responsibility to protect the people and it's doing just that. "So, we should be careful with the way we criticize the President; we should measure our utterances. You don't destroy a country because you want to criticize the Federal Government. Boko haram only spread to seven states when it began and has been contained to three stat es. How then can people be saying that the country is not safe?" He asked.   On Anenih's appointment as NPA Chairman Reacting to condemnations that trailed last week appointment of Chief Anthony Anenih as the Chairman of th e Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), the Presidential spokesperson said that there was nothing wrong in appointing the veteran politician to use his vast experience to guide the professionals in NPA. He said the various allegations leveled against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain have not been proven in the court of law and that records have shown that they are all lies.  He particularly mentioned the billions of Naira that Anenih was alleged to have collected when he was the Minister of Works, saying that the money was only budgeted by the ministry and was not released. "Why then should people be accusing him of embezzling money when the money was not released?" he queried.    On FG's action on fuel subsidy Okupe assured Nigerians that the coming year will be the country's year of glory and that the Federal Government did not make a mistake in its handling of the fuel subsidy issue in January this year. He said the Jonathan's administration is a very responsive government and that, according to him, explains why the government, after due consultations bow to the wishes of the Nigerian people through the reduction in petrol price from N141 to N97 per litre. "I am not being pompous or irrational but I don't agree that government made a mistake given the way it handled the fuel subsidy issue. As responsible government, if you do something wrong and you come to the realization, you should agree that you make a mistake, but in that particular situation, from government perspective, it wasn't a mistake. I don't think government made a mistake; I am speaking from government's position, I don't think it was an error. Government backed down to the wishes of the people which are a responsible thing to do in a democracy".   On refineries He also spoke on the nation's refineries saying just like an old car, the refineries in the country are old and instead of spending money on frequent maintenance, the best option is to sell it off and purchase a new one. On why the federal government did not partner with those operating illegal refineries in the creeks to raise the refineries to a standard level and make them legal, Okupe said the operation of illegal refineries has nothing to with national growth and development. "The refineries are working and I believe that even in re cent times, the recent figure that we have is that majority of the refineries we have are very, very old. The least of them is about 30 years in age or more. So, we are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. The best thing to do is to do away with these refineries. It is like having an old car and you don't have money to purchase a new" http://peoplesdaily-online.com/index.php/politics/politics/political-interviews/10702-jonathan-fulfilled-campaign-promises-in-2012-claims-okupe