Rejoinder
to Punch Publication of Sunday 27th October, 2013
Press Statement
1. The attention of the Joint Action Front (JAF) was
drawn to the malicious report on page 5 of the Sunday Punch of Sunday 27th
October, 2013, where it was stated that some civil society groups, including
JAF will take to the streets in mass protests unless those found involved in
the N255m armoured cars scandal rocking the Ministry of Aviation are investigated
and prosecuted.
2. While JAF welcomes any protest against monumental
corruption being perpetrated by the thieving class of rulers at all levels of
Government (federal, State and local) in the country, we will like to state
categorically that JAF was never involved in any meeting or discussion on any
protest with any group as stated in the publication.
3. This clarification is important so as to set the
record straight, more so, in the light of rent-a-crowd sponsored protest in
recent time, whose objectives in most cases, were ambivalent.
4. JAF as an organisation has a distinct record of
organizing protests at national and local levels in solidarity with the working
people and the oppressed poor in our country against the exploitative and
oppressive policies of Governments and their agencies.
5. In such protests we have organized in the past and
will continue to do, in collaboration with groups who share our goals of the
socio-economic transformation of Nigeria, we would procedurally hold democratic
discussions on such issue before deciding on any action.
6. We feel extremely slighted seeing our name - JAF -
being linked to an action on we were never part of.
7. We expect that Sunday Punch as a reputable
media outfit should have, at least, sought out the principal officers of JAF
before publishing the story in the paper.
8. Thus, we demand on the management of Sunday
Punch to RETRACT the unwarranted report and give it the widest circulation.
JAF WAS NEVER CONSULTED BY ANY GROUP FOR SUCH REPORTED PROTEST AND WE NEVER
ATTENDED ANY SUCH MEETING THAT RESOLVED ON SUCH PROTEST.
FORWARD EVER, BACKWARD NEVER
Comrade Abiodun Aremu
JAF Secretary
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