Jonathan must fire a few ‘senior’ members of his cabinet — Uranta

Secretary General of the Nigerian National Summit Group (NNSG) and member of the newly inaugurated Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue, Mr Tony Ipriye Uranta, has made a fresh call to President Goodluck Jonathan to fire a few senior members of his cabinet as a matter of urgency. Uranta, a foremost human rights crusader from the Niger/Delta, in his renewed agitation for cabinet shake-up expressed displeasure over the performance of a few members of Jonathan’s cabinet, whom he said were adding no value to his government. He pointed out that they were corrupt and capable of misleading the President into losing touch of his administration’s agenda. In his words, ”the President must fire a few ‘senior’ members of his Cabinet. They are adding no value to the GEJ administration, and are deeply enmeshed in corruption. They may misguide Mr President. Save us the agony of failed promises by men and women who know not what honour, integrity and service mean. They are liars, tricksters and thieves!” It would be recalled that just recently, Mr Uranta denied establishing any contact with the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) regarding national matters as the group had purported. He described as myopic and self-destructive, claims by the group that he had been in touch with them, to solicit their support for his advocacy for the development of the Niger Delta region, convocation of a national confab, among other things. The statement had read; “One’s attention has been repeatedly drawn to the outlandish mendacities put out on Thursday under the pseudonym ‘MEND’, and with regard to my person. “MEND has lied outrageously in nearly every line of its putative statement! But, then, which ‘MEND’ is this: the anti-Jonathan ‘MEND’, the Boko Haram-sourced ‘MEND’, or the phantom-’MEND’ that the founders/commanders of MEND (who have since embraced former President Yar’Adua’s amnesty offer, and ‘suspended’ the activities by the real MEND…the enigmatic Tompolos, Boyloafs, Farahs et al) have long denied knowledge of? “I have never been in touch with any of the above ‘ersatz-MEND’, one of which must have put this bunch of ridiculous lies, and hereby, categorically, state that I never have, at any time, sought the support of any such body in my vocal pursuit of a Nigerian National Conference