Goodluck Jonathan Fires Back At Osinbajo

President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has attacked
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo over some of the issues he (Osinbajo)
raised during his visit to the United States of America.

Speaking in New York yesterday, Osinbajo had claimed that, “As at
2010, Nigeria had about 112.7million people living in extreme poverty.
Nothing in place, there was no Social Investment Programme, there was no
social security, no way of taking people out of poverty.”

But Jonathan, in a statement made available to DAILY POST on Tuesday
by his media office and signed by Reno Omokri, said that Osinbajo has
taken his lies to the US.

He added,

“My attention has been drawn to statements by the
so-called Pastor Yemi Osinbajo, the deputy to General Muhammadu Buhari,
in New York where, as usual, he made false statements to the media in an
effort to explain away his non-performance in office.

“The statement [by Osinbajo] is a lie and it is very easy to disprove Mr. Osinbajo’s fallacious assertions.

“According to the United Nations and the World Poverty Clock, Nigeria
overtook India as the world headquarters for extreme poverty on
Tuesday, June 26, 2018, when her population of extremely poor people
‘INCREASED’ to an unprecedented 87 million people.

“If, according to both the United Nations and the World Poverty
Clock, Nigeria’s population of extremely poor people hit an
unprecedented number of 87 million people in 2018 under General Buhari,
how is it possible that there were 112.7 million people living in
extreme poverty in 2010?

“If that were true, then Nigeria would have overtaken India as the
world headquarters for extreme poverty in 2010, because as at that time,
India did not have such numbers of extremely poor people.

“You see that no matter how far and fast Osinbajo’s regular falsehood travels, it will always be overtaken by truth.

“The truth is that the period between 2010 and 2015 witnessed the most radical reduction in poverty, ever in Nigerian history.

“For instance, according to the annual Global Hunger Index published
by the US based International Food Policy Research Institute, whereas
hunger increased in other parts of sub Saharan Africa, for the first
time since records were kept, Hunger reduced in Nigeria by 20% in 2013
under the Jonathan administration. I encourage my readers to Google this
information.

“I should note that, according to the same International Food Policy
Research Institute, hunger in Nigeria has risen every year since 2015.

“Also, it is not true that there were ‘no Social Investment
Programme’ under the Jonathan administration. On the contrary, the most
successful social intervention programmes ever put in place in Nigeria,
were introduced and implemented by the Jonathan government.

“This included the SUBSIDY REMOVAL EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM called SURE-P,
whereby roads, hospitals and child care clinics amongst others were
funded from the proceeds of the partially removed subsidy (including the
ongoing Second Niger Bridge that this administration dishonestly tried
to take credit for), headed by renowned industrialist and diplomat, Dr.
Christopher Kolade and the Conditional Cash Transfer program to poor
Nigerians and pregnant women (which the Buhari administration has
praised publicly).

“The Jonathan administration also had several initiatives to turn
around the lives of Nigerian youths including the Youth Enterprise With
Innovation in Nigeria (YouWin), the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS),
the Presidential Special Scholarship Scheme for Innovations and
Development scholarships (PRESSID) to First Class graduates of Nigerian
universities to mention a few.

“That same government also built 165 almajiri schools to help reduce
the 12 million strong population of out of school children in Northern
Nigeria, as well as built 12 new federal universities.

“The policy of the Jonathan administration was that it was better to
give Nigerians a HAND UP, via education and grants to start their own
businesses, rather than give our people HANDOUTS of small sums of money
that is essentially fish, but doesn’t teach them to fish.

“In conclusion, I will like to say again that Mr. Osinbajo has shown
himself to be a man of very base character, who lies as much as the
devil that he preaches against and whose behaviour has undermined the
faith of genuine believers.

“It will be recalled that only last week, Mr. Osinbajo claimed that
the 2019 elections were better than the 2015 elections, despite the
verdict of the US, EU and AU to the contrary.

“It is now left to those who gave him the title ‘pastor’ to determine
whether he is representing Christ well. Judgment Day is coming. And we
shall all give account.”