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The All Progressives Congress has said President Goodluck Jonathan has committed a serious error of judgment, abused his office, violated the Constitution and engaged in corruption through his Abuja land grab that allegedly fetched him 90.04 hectares of land in the Aviation Village, Abuja, barely seven months after getting to office.

In a statement in London on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said nothing could justify the indiscretion of a sitting President, acquiring such a huge swath of land, as contained in a newspaper advert and yet unrefuted by the President.

It said the claim of the Presidents aides that he grabbed the land because he wanted to engage in farming, which it said was allowed under the Fifth Schedule Part 1 of the 1999 Constitution, and the justification of the land grab on the basis that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo did the same while in office, missed the point.

APC said the issues involved had gone beyond the fact that a public officer was legally allowed to engage in farming, adding that the provision quoted by the Presidents apologists was a weak and untenable defence.

The opposition party stated, The Fifth Schedule Part 1( Code of Conduct for Public Officers) of the 1999 Constitution, Section 1 states that a public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities.

But thats exactly what the President did by leveraging his high office to grab a prime land in Abuja. Would Goodluck Jonathan have been given 90.04 Ha of such a prime land were he not a sitting President?

What happened in that Abuja land grab is nothing but the height of indiscretion and abuse of office, and cannot be justified or explained away just like that. Without mincing words, it also amounts to corruption, which is defined in part as a perversion of integrity, and a glaring instance of bad leadership.

It alleged that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Bala Mohammed, also grabbed 40.40 hectares of prime land in Abuja, under the facade of using it for farming, because his boss, the President, had done so.

APC slammed the Presidents apologists for seeking to justify Jonathans action because Chief Obasanjo, according to them, also acquired land for farming during his own presidency.

The party said, Those pushing this kind of argument are worsening the Presidents case and insulting Nigerians. When did one bad act become a justification for another? Does a thief escape punishment by saying he stole because someone else had stolen? If indeed Chief Obasanjo did it, does that make it right? Is this not part of the reasons this President has been unable to fight corruption?

Original post:
Jonathans land grab, abuse of office, corruption APC