ABUJA — The All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday accused the
out-going President Goodluck Jonathan administration of plotting to hinder a
smooth handover of power to the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari
(retd) on May 29.
President Goodluck Jonathan had, on
Wednesday, accused the APC of acting like a parallel government and trying to
stampede his administraton out of office by making impossible demands in the
terms of reference of the President-elect’s transition committee.
Jonathan and Buhari
Briefing newsmen after the Federal
Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, Minister of National Planning, Abubakar
Suleiman, a member of Jonathan’s transition committee, said the council frowned
at the terms of reference of the in-coming government and warned that the
President’s magnanimity should not be construed as cowardice.
He said the council agreed that Dr
Goodluck Jonathan remains the President of the country until May 29 and the
in-coming government should avoid creating a parallel government.
Misplaced aggression
Responding yesterday to President
Jonathan’s accusation, the APC in a statement by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said it was becoming apparent that the Jonathan
administration will not fully cooperate with the incoming government, despite
its public posturing in that regard.
The party also described as “an act
of hostility and a patently-misplaced aggression the unnecessary vituperation
against the incoming Buhari administration by the Jonathan government,
ostensibly because of the terms of reference of the Buhari transition committee
but in reality part of an orchestrated plot to sabotage the transition.”
It rejected the continued blackmail
by the Jonathan administration as a result of President Jonathan’s concession
of defeat, wondering whether the concession, gracious as it was, has now become
a shield for all wrong doings.
The party said: “We are sick and
tired of being blackmailed by the Jonathanians. Gen. Buhari won the March 28
Presidential elections fair and square, having satisfied both constitutional
and other statutory requirements.
“We have no apology for our victory,
and the concession of defeat – while it may have increased the political stock
of President Jonathan – has by no means diminished the historic and emphatic
victory of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress.”
Outgoing administration trying to
hide something
Justifying its claim that the
Jonathan administration was plotting to hinder a smooth transition of power,
APC said: “While the outgoing government had earlier issued a memo to all
ministries, departments and agencies to make sure their handover notes are
ready by April 20, the same government has now reversed itself and said the
handover notes will not be ready until May 14.
“With the new date, the Buhari
transition committee will have little or no time to take a thorough look at the
handover notes or seek clarification on knotty issues, effectively handing it
(Buhari Transition Committee) a fait accompli as far as the handover
notes are concerned. This does not augur well for a smooth transition and gives
the impression that the outgoing administration is trying to hide something.
“By its dilly-dallying on the date
for the readiness of the handover notes from the MDAs, the administration’s
posturing that it is ready to hand over has been exposed as nothing but a
smokescreen.”
On parallel govt
APC described as illogical and
strange, the claim by the Jonathan administration that the President- elect was
trying to set up a parallel government simply because he has set up his own
transition committee and given it terms of reference meant to guide the members
on the discharge of their duties as members of that committee, wondering how
those terms of reference have become the concern of the outgoing Federal
Executive Council.
According to the party, “in case the
Federal Executive Council has forgotten, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All
Progressives Congress was declared the winner of the March 28 Presidential
Election by INEC. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is, therefore, today the
President-elect and the All Progressives Congress the incoming government. It
is, therefore, illogical to accuse the President-elect and the incoming
government of setting up a parallel government.
“It is either the outgoing Federal
Executive Council has something to hide or is bent on sabotaging the incoming
government. There can be no other reasons for the misplaced aggression that was
exhibited in that ill-intentioned, unprovoked and vitriolic statement from the
Jonathan government.”
It said that to put the matter
beyond doubt, the party has decided to publish in full the terms of reference
in question so that Nigerians can judge for themselves whether there is
anything suggestive of intimidation or running a parallel government in the document.
We won’t surrender to blackmail
APC warned the Jonathanians not to
overstretch the goodwill which the President has earned by his gracious
concession even before INEC officially declared Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as the
winner of the March 28 Presidential election, saying while it was momentous, it
was not unprecedented in Africa, where power has changed hands peacefully
between the ruling and opposition parties in several nations.
The party asked: “Are they now
saying that because the President conceded defeat, the incoming administration
can no longer ask legitimate questions or seek clarifications that may arise
from the handover notes?
“We will not surrender to any
blackmail, subtle or otherwise. We shall ask questions and ask for explanations
and clarifications whenever and wherever we deem such necessary. We cannot run
a transparently honest government or fight corruption if we are prevented from
asking legitimate questions and seeking clarifications from the outgoing
government during the transition process. Let the Jonathan administration not
tie our hands behind our back just because he conceded defeat after losing an
election.”
The Terms of Reference
The party then reproduced the Terms
of Reference for Buhari’s Transition Committee which state thus:
*To develop a clear framework for
liaison with the out-going administration for purposes of a smooth
hand-over/take-over.
*To receive hand-over documents from
Ministries, Departments and Agencies and itemise the most important or most
urgent issues confronting the in-coming government.
*To review and make preliminary
assessment of the balance sheet of government with particular emphasis on:
*The status of assets and
liabilities of government.
*Cash flow position of the
government.
*Quantum of public domestic and
external debt of government and their deployment.
*Government’s out-standing
contractual obligations and its ability to meet such obligations.
*Status of implementation of capital
projects.
*Under-take a preliminary assessment
of the security challenges facing the country, and the
*Counter-insurgency measures taken
by the government thus far.
*Counter policy measures being
implemented in the Niger Delta to deal with unrest and major economic crimes in
the area. In particular the status of the Amnesty Programme.
*Readiness of the Police and other
national security and intelligence agencies in addressing threats to law and
order.
*Provide a brief over-view of CBN,
NNPC, NCC, Customs and FIRS.
*Suggest “quick fixes” which will
result in tangible, visible and practical measures so that change will be seen
after 30 days, after 100 days, after six months of the administration taking
office.
*Make any other observations which
in view of the committee would be helpful to the transition and take-off of the
new Administration.
*Report back to the President-elect
in two weeks.
News source : www.vanguardngr.com
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