The All Progressives Congress (APC) the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration of plotting to hinder a smooth handover of power on 29th May, arguing that the administration will not give full cooperate with the machineries put in place by the incoming government, despite pretending to the public that all is set.
APC made the accusation in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary Lai Mohammed on Thursday.
Mohammed said the unnecessary outburst against the incoming Buhari administration by the Jonathan government was ostensibly directed at the Buhari Transition Committee and that such move is one of hostility and a patently-misplaced aggression.
He pointed out with displeasure that the outgoing government is now using Jonathan’s concession of defeat as a shield for all the previous errors of the administration.
“We are sick and tired of being blackmailed by the Jonathanians. Gen.
Buhari won the 28th March Presidential Elections fair and square, having satisfied both constitutional and other statutory requirements,” Mohammed said.
“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.”
Explaining further the statement that the Jonathan administration is plotting to hinder a smooth transition of power, Mohammed 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 20th April, the same government has now reversed itself and said the handover notes will not be ready until 14th May.
“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,” he said.
Mohammed described as illogical and strange the claim by the Jonathan administration that the President-elect is 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 on earth those terms of reference have become the concern of the outgoing Federal Executive Council.
Mohammed added: “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.
“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.”
He also said that in order 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.
He warned the outgoing administration not to overstretch the goodwill which the President has earned by his gracious concession even before INEC officially declared Buhari as the winner of the 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.
He further said in the statement: “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.”
