There are indications that the All
Progressives Congress is
uncomfortable with the May 28
handover date proposed by the
out-going administration.
Investigation by Saturday PUNCH
revealed that the outgoing
President Goodluck Jonathan and
the President-elect, Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) are set
to clash over a proposal by the
Jonathan team to hand over the
mantle of leadership to Buhari on
May the 28th, instead of the 29th.
Saturday PUNCH gathered that the
Buhari team was already over what
they considered as an act of ill-will
laced with sinister motives.
This is sequel to an announcement
by the Minister of Information,
Senator Patricia Akwashiki, that
President Jonathan would perform
the handover ceremony at a dinner
on May 28.
Akwashiki made the announcement
after Wednesday’s Federal
Executive Council meeting.
She told journalists, “By May 28, the
President intends to have the
formal handover done at a dinner
so that we can reserve May 29 for
the incoming government.”
However, since the return of
democracy in 1999, the traditional
date for the handover of power has
been May 29, which is also
observed as Democracy Day.
This tradition has been the vogue
for the past 16 years. It also
presents an opportunity for the
outgoing President to formally
present the instrument of authority
to his successor in the full glare of
members of the public, local and
international media, as well as
foreign dignitaries.
A top member of the All
Progressives Congress, who spoke
on condition of anonymity because
he was not authorised to speak to
the media said, “It is simply not
acceptable, we are rejecting it, it is
a trap.”
He explained that from a security
point of view, it could be
considered a trap.
“How can anyone explain a
situation where an outgoing
president and his team will
conveniently excuse themselves
from an event where they are
supposed to play a role when the
President-elect and the Vice-
President- elect are supposed to be
present?” he queried.
According to the party chieftain,
power abhors a vacuum as such, the
constitution does not envisage a
situation where Nigeria will be
without a sitting President even for
one hour.
He said, “If Jonathan hands over on
the 28th, who accounts for the
hours before the morning of the
29th when the Chief Justice of the
Federation is to administer the
oath of office and the oath of
allegiance?
“What if there is even a sinister
motive to this whole saga? As the
President of the nation; who will
still be the Chief Security officer
until he hands over, there is no
excuse that is strong enough to
excuse him from the event.”
When contacted, a member of the
Buhari campaign team, Mr. Rotimi
Fashakin, said while he was not
privy to any meeting on the subject
yet, it was only logical to ask
Nigerians not to rest on their oars
until total liberation was achieved.
He described the announcement by
President Jonathan to hand over a
day earlier than was due as a ploy
to rubbish the gains made with the
historic win by the opposition APC.
Fashakin said, “It (the proposed
handover on the 28th) portends ill
for the political destiny of this
nation.
“That statement is loaded and it
shows that the Nigerian people
should not rest yet that there is still
ominous signs which we should
never take for granted. If Jonathan
truly said he is handing over on the
28th it presupposes that he will be
absent on the 29th.
“Number one, if he hands over on
the 28th to the President-elect,
does Gen. Muhammadu Buhari start
to act effectively on that date? The
answer is an emphatic NO.
“GMB does not start to act on that
date, if you get what I mean.
Handing over to GMB on that date is
not only meaningless, it is stupid. It
has no meaning in law, or reality. It
means that for 24 hours before GMB
takes over there will be a vacuum.”
He further argued that on the side
of morality, Nigeria borrowed its
constitution substantially from the
American Constitution, and as such,
it should learn a thing or two about
how it operates.
He said there was never a time in
recorded history where an
outgoing American President, who
is hale and hearty, will absent
himself from the handover
ceremony of his successor no
matter their political differences.
Although, it is not yet clear how the
Buhari team would handle “this
threat,” it was learnt that the
party’s legal team is being put on
notice to be on the alert.
It was also gathered that the
President-elect and his team have
kept the issue of ministerial
appointments in abeyance.
A member of the party’s National
Working Committee, who pleaded
for anonymity because he was not
authorised to speak to the media,
said, “The general is a meticulous
person and we all know that the
main task before us now is the
transition committee. The issue of
who will be minister has been kept
in abeyance.”
When contacted to speak on the
president-elect’s views on the
handover date and appointments,
the APC National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,
said, “You will get our reaction later
after due consultation.”
Attempts to speak with the Minister
of Information proved abortive. She
was not in the office when our
correspondent visited. However,
the Personal Assistant to the
Minister on Media, Mr. Joseph
Mutah, promised to get in touch
with her and revert to our
correspondent.
He had yet to do that as of the time
of going to the press and when his
mobile number was called, he did
not pick the call.
The Information Minister had also
after the FEC meeting said the
President had directed all
Ministries, Departments and
Agencies to prepare their handover
notes and submit them to the
Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Pius Anyim, on or
before Monday.
According to her, it is Anyim’s
responsibility to compile the notes,
which will form Jonathan’s
handover document to Buhari on
May 28.
She had said, “You know May 29 is
our Democracy Day. So, we have
activities lined up all through that
week, showcasing all what we have
achieved and all other things we do
normally on our Democracy Day
except that this year is special with
the inauguration of our new
President that is coming up on May
29.”
The minister said the valedictory
FEC meeting would hold on May 20,
adding that everything that
required the President’s approval
must have been presented to him
by May 13.
Meanwhile, two Senior Advocates
of Nigeria, Sebastian Hon and
Joseph Nwobike, on Friday,
disagreed on the appropriateness
of President Goodluck Jonathan’s
decision to hand over on May 28
instead of May 29 when his four-
year tenure will statutorily end.
The two lawyers spoke with one of
our correspondents in separate
telephone interviews.
Hon insisted that the best option
was for the President to hand over
on May 29 as past presidents had
done.
But Nwobike said nothing was
unconstitutional in the president’s
decision as handing over is a
process that would end with the
inauguration of the incoming
president on May 29.
Nwobike said, “Handing over is a
process and not an event. So the
paper work will be done on May 28
and the formalisation and the
completion will occur on May 29. So
there is clearly nothing
unconstitutional about it.”
But Hon queried the basis for the
President’s plan to hand over on
May 28 as doing such on May 29 as it
is usually done would not affect the
nation’s democracy.
He said, “The best and the most
appropriate thing to do is for
President Jonathan to hand over at
12.01am of the morning of May 29,
2015.
“If he hands over before May 29, it
means he is no longer the
president. He should hand over by
12.01am of May 29 or do as the usual
practice by 7am in the past. It will
not be late if it is done by 7am on
the morning of May 29.
“Remember that all former
presidents took over on the
morning of May 29. If he does that,
nobody will query him and the
transition will not be truncated.”
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
