Jonathan To Formally Handover To Buhari May 28

9 years ago

Jonathan To Formally Handover To Buhari May 28

President Goodluck Jonathan will formally hand over to the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, on May 28 this year.

Accordingly, he has directed all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to submit their handover briefs to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) on or before April 20.

It is, however, not clear yet whether Jonathan will still attend the Democracy Day celebration at Eagle Square, Abuja, on May 29 when Buhari will be sworn in by the chief justice of Nigeria.

Information minister, Mrs Patricia Akwashiki, who gave this hint after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa yesterday, said that the president intends having the formal handing over done at a dinner on May 28, while May 29 would be reserved for the incoming government.

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Briefing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting, she said, “By May 28, we expect to have concluded our government and we are welcoming incoming government.

“Also you know May 29 is our Democracy Day. So, we have activities lined up all through that week, showcasing all 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 on May 29.”

Disclosing that the president had directed MDAs to submit their handover notes within five dayss, Akwashiki said: “He (Jonathan) emphasized the need for all MDAs to submit their handing over notes to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation by 20th of this month, that is, on Monday.

“So we are going to be very busy this weekend putting together our hand over notes. The president also emphasized that he would require another little briefing from all MDAs to indicate inherited projects and how far they have been executed, and initiated projects by his administration and the levels of completion – whether completed, ongoing or abandoned”.

The minister stated that the cabinet members discussed other matters of state but that they paid particular attention to the transition and how to make it effective.

Akwashiki, who also doubles as the minister of water resources, noted that in this wise, a transitional committee had already been set up by president which is headed by the vice president, and an inaugural committee headed by the SGF.

“So we are doing everything to achieve smooth transition, getting all our notes together. It is for the MDAs to submit their notes to the SGF who will handle the total package of the handover to the incoming administration. There is a format to follow and so it becomes easier for all the MDAs to follow the template. If they do that, it will be easier for the president to compile everything.

“The format is to ensure they submit everything before they pass it to the incoming government,” she explained.

Asked if FEC will continue hold meetings till May 29, the minister explained that the administration would to be active until it hands over to the incoming one, with the last FEC meeting holding on May 20.

She said: “Of course, we are in government until the day the president-elect takes the oath of office. There is no vacuum; there are things happening and if you have any pending contract approval, it has to be submitted before May 13.

Everything that requires the president’s approval should be submitted before May 13.

“We also do not want the incoming administration to accuse us of rushing projects – which is normal. So, we are guided by that. And if you have approvals, we are going to have Federal Executive Council every week; the last one that will be the valedictory one will be on May 20.”