House Passes New Bill for Smooth Transition of Power

Bill makes president-elect resume before inauguration

The House of Representatives has approved six months jail term and N10 million fine or both for any person who frustrates the smooth transition of power from one civilian government to the other.

The House yesterday passed a bill seeking to make a Presidentelect resume in the Presidential Villa to understudy the outgoing President ahead of inauguration.

The bill proposes that during the waiting period, the incoming president would be empowered to review the financial records and activities of the incumbent.

Refusal by the incumbent to cooperate with or provide requested documents by the incoming officials shall upon conviction attract a fine of N10m or six months’ imprisonment or both.

This was contained in the recommendations adopted at the Committee of the Whole, in the proposed Presidential (Transition) Bill, 2019, sponsored by Speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.

The bill, seeks to make provision for the smooth and orderly transfer of power from one government to another.

The bill stipulates that the outgoing President to appropriate to the Administrator-General such funds as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Bill not exceeding the sum of N100 million for anyone Presidential transition for the fiscal year in which the transition occurs

The Clause 1 of the bill states that: “When at any general election for the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the incumbent President is not re-elected, the President shall within 2 weeks of the declaration of the Presidentelect as the winner of the election provide space for not more than 10 persons designated by the President-elect to begin a review and analysis of budgeted expenditures during the tenure of the current President, review all other necessary documents as may be requested by the Presidentelect’s transition team and to acquire a working knowledge of the various offices, departments, commissions, boards and other agencies of the executive arm of the Federal Government with a view to promote the orderly transition of the executive power in connection with the expiration of the term of office of a President and the inauguration of a new President.”

Also, Clause 2 of the bill also stipulates that: “The President shall also constitute his transition team who must cooperate with the President-elect and the staff he so designated and provide any assistance that may be reasonably requested.

The Clause 3 of the bill provides that the provisions of this section shall apply at all times after each general elections whether or not the power change is within the same party or from one party to another.

While Clause 4 says that for the purpose of this Bill, the President shall include the Vice President and the President-elect shall include the Vice President-elect.

The proposes law further provided that “any employee of any agency or department of government may be drafted to be part of the transition team of either of the President or President-elect and he shall continue to be entitled to such compensation provided by law for his regular employment and shall be entitled to the rights and privileges associated with his regular employment without any interruption.”