Goodluck Jonathan Faces Backlash for Remark on Mother’s Relocation

• Former President Jonathan faces criticism in Bayelsa for stating he’d relocate his mother to Abuja if APC won the election
• APC candidate Timipre Sylva calls Jonathan’s comment “unfortunate,” and the party’s elders council condemns his perceived partisanship

Former President Goodluck Jonathan is facing severe criticism in Bayelsa, his home state, following his statement that he would have relocated his mother to Abuja if the All Progressives Congress (APC) had won the recently concluded gubernatorial election.

Expressing concerns about potential security issues had Governor Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) failed to secure victory, Jonathan reportedly remarked during a congratulatory visit to the governor.

In response, Timipre Sylva, the APC candidate in the election, labelled the former president’s statement as “unfortunate” and expressed hope that Jonathan was misquoted. Sylva quoted Wole Soyinka, saying, “You can take the hippopotamus out of the swamp, but you cannot take the swamp out of the hippopotamus,” in a post on Instagram and X.

The elders’ council of the APC echoed these sentiments, strongly condemning Jonathan’s statement in a Sunday statement by its secretary, Clarkson Ayebaepreye. The council questioned the extent to which Jonathan would go “in satisfying his paymaster, who ordinarily should be his subordinate.”

While Jonathan carries the tag of an elder statesman, the council accused him of remaining deeply involved in partisan politics despite his supposed statesman status. The criticism suggests a growing dissatisfaction with Jonathan’s perceived alignment with partisan interests.

Former Chief of Army Staff, Major General Chris Alli is dead

Former Chief of Army Staff, Major General Chris Alli (rtd), has passed away.

Born December 1944, he retired from the Nigerian Army as Major General.

He served as Chief of Army Staff from 1993 to 1994 under General Sani Abacha’s regime and was military governor of Plateau State Nigeria from August 1985 to 1986 during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida.

Subsequently, he was appointed interim administrator of Plateau State during a 2004 crisis in the state following ethno-religious killings in Shendam, Yelwa Local Government.