LAGOS — The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has described as a cruel irony the comments credited to President Goodluck Jonathan that “the PDP is the only truly democratic party and that other parties are one-man shows.”

The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Lagos, yesterday, said the president was the one turning his party into a one-man show by “brushing aside the constitution of his party and single-handedly installing the governor of his state.”

The party said: “We see the comments attributed to the President, which we have waited for him to deny to no avail, as one of the many gaffes which have come to define the Jonathan Presidency, rather than a statement to be taken seriously.”

ACN advised the President to always show deep introspection in his public comments, because he was not just presiding over any country, but one with the largest concentration of black people on earth, which bestows a lot of responsibility on him.

It said the comments attributed to President Jonathan, in which he disparaged other political parties, may have been tolerable if made by the chairman of his party or any other PDP official, rather than the President who is the father of  the nation.

‘’The President must learn to rise above certain issues and do things that will enhance the respect the citizenry have for his office, rather than rushing to exhibit soap-box mentality when the occasion does not call for it.

‘’As for which party is democratic and which one is not, or which administration has unleashed unspeakable hardship and calamity on the citizens we leave that judgement to Nigerians, instead of a highly-partisan and easily excitable President,’’ ACN said