The All Progressives Congress accused Goodluck Jonathan’s administration of planning to hinder the smooth power transition on May 29.
The party insinuated that the acting government had already showed that they would not fully cooperate with the incoming administration despite the public assurances.
The APC also wondered whether Jonathan’s gracious concessions had become cover for all the other wicked actions directed against the incoming cabinet.
See some extracts from the April 30 statement by Lai Mohammed, the APC national publicity secretary, as released on Vanguard:
“We are sick and tired of being blackmailed by the Jonathanians. Gen. Buhari won the 28 March 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.”
To prove the point about unwillingness of Jonathan’s administration to conduct smooth transition, the APC said that the Federal Government had reversed its previous order directing that the handover notes should be ready by April 20. Now the new date has been set – May 14, Lai Mohammed lamented and explained:
“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 dillydallying 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.”
Regarding the allegations against Buhari who has been accused by the acting administration of trying to run a parallel government calling the claim “illogical”.
“In case the Federal Executive Council has forgotten, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress was declared the winner of the March 28th 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.”
Finally, recalling the humble win-win concession made by Jonathan immediately after Buhari’s victory, the APC insisted it was not an excuse for the wrongful actions.
“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.”
Meanwhile Buhari on April 29 unveiled the Transition Committee to negotiate with its Federal Government counterpart to enable a smooth handover. The president-elect tasked the body to provide accurate information for the sake of Nigeria’s prosperity.
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