A Transition Steeped in Controversy
The diatribe between the outgoing administration and the incoming government led by Major-General Muhammadu Buhari over their transition committee is not unexpected, writes Shola Oyeyipo
The diatribe between the outgoing administration and the incoming government led by Major-General Muhammadu Buhari over their transition committee is not unexpected
Giving up power in a third world country is evidently not easy. And nothing underscores this than the ongoing diatribe between the outgoing government of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Transition Committee of the incoming administration of General Muhmmadu Buhari. This is even more so when the main campaign slogan of the Buhari team was that the President Jonathan-led administration was deep in corruption.
It is in view of this that the acrimony between the federal government and the All Progressives Congress was not unexpected. Though the federal government first came out to condemn the APC for allegedly attempting to stampede President Jonathan before the May 29 handover date and for allegedly running what it tagged “parallel government”, the opposition party, on the other hand, maintained that the outgoing administration was working to disrupt a smooth transition of power.
This however brings to fore, some of the issues raised by the APC as reasons for the disagreement between the two sides. First, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a reaction to the PDP allegation that his party was running a parallel government, accused the outgoing government of “misplaced aggression,” which he attributed to the terms of reference of the Buhari Transition Committee, which he alleged resulted in the bid to sabotage the transition.
The terms of reference, he said, included: To develop a clear framework for liaison with the out-going administration for purposes of a smooth hand-over and take-over, to receive hand-over documents from ministries, departments and agencies and itemise the most important or most urgent issues confronting the incoming government.
They are also 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 debts of government and their deployment and government’s outstanding contractual obligations and its ability to meet such obligations.
Their job also covers the assessment of the status of implementation of capital projects, preliminary assessment of the security challenges facing the country and the counter-insurgency measures taken by the government so far; counter policy measures being implemented in the Niger Delta to deal with unrest and major economic crimes in the area with particular reference to the status of the Amnesty Programme.
Other aspects of the committee’s brief cover looking at the readiness of the police and other national security and intelligence agencies to address threats to law and order, to provide a brief overview 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 and after six months of the administration taking office and to make any other observations which in view of the committee would be helpful to the transition and take-off of the new administration.
From the onset, the APC, through the Director of Media and Communication of its Campaign Organisation, Mr. Shehu Garba, had expressed displeasure over the composition of President Jonathan’s Transition Committee, describing the team as untrustworthy people.
“The president’s committee on transition and handover looks to be a trickish one. It seems to be like one drawn to massage the numbers and ensure safety for team Jonathan. Some names on that list have certainly made the eyes pop out of their sockets. In the president’s list, you have men and women who reflect the worst of our prejudices; men and women who have made themselves the mouthpieces for everything regressive,” he said.
Though none of either sides has come out in clear terms to disclose the issues bothering them, THISDAY findings revealed that the disturbed disposition of the Buhari team was a product of their resolve to get to the root of the seeming rot that is believed to have eaten deep into the fabrics of the oil, maritime and other sectors that are the main sources of income in Nigeria.
Another grey area believed to have also led to the conflict between the two parties is at the level of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), where a former governor of the apex bank, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had alleged fraud before his eventual ouster by the Jonathan administration.
It would also be recalled that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been a focus of criticism over alleged misappropriation and missing funds lately and it is definitely an area of interest for the new government.
The second issue that aroused the suspicion of the incoming APC government boils down to the sudden change in the date the handover notes are expected to get to the APC Transition Committee members.
The outgoing government had issued a memo to all ministries, departments and agencies to make sure their handover notes were ready by April 20th, but for reasons best known to government, it changed the date and said the handover notes will not be ready until May 14th, which is just about two weeks to the handover date.
To the APC, this smacked of a ploy to doctor the books and make it difficult to thoroughly look at the facts and figure out the discrepancies.
“With the new date, the Buhari Transition Committee will have little or no time to 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 handover has been exposed as nothing but a smokescreen,” Garba said.
But the presidency has not been silent either. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Reuben Abati, described Shehu’s statement as “unnecessary busybody commenting,” noting that he (Shehu) “does not understand what the composition of a transition committee is all about.
“Our side is supposed to prepare the handover notes and to ensure that they are properly done. Then on Gen. Buhari’s side, there is another transition committee whose job is to collect the transition notes, review the notes and ask relevant questions to see if there are needs for clarifications.
“Candidly, if he is complaining about the composition of the transition committee, it does not make any sense to me. He probably did not speak for his principal. I really don’t see the basis for what he had said. Complaining of the composition does not make sense at all,” Abati said.
In the same vein, the Minister of National Planning, who is a member of the Jonathan Transition Committee, Alhaji Abubakar Suleiman, spoke to journalists after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting last week, and said the Buhari transition team was making impossible demands from the government.
“We take exceptions to some of the terms of reference that look as if the current government is being stampeded or intimidated,” Suleiman said, adding that “President Jonathan’s magnanimity should not be taken for granted.
“The magnanimity of the president should not be taken to be cowardice and that is why the president and indeed council members enjoined Nigerian people to see the olive branch extended to Nigerians and international community as a way of keeping this country intact, as a way of ensuring peace in Nigeria and as such whatever the outcome of the election, what is important is Nigeria’s national interest. And that national interest should be protected, enhanced and promoted at whatever level we are.”
He said council members have been advised to work in line with the terms of reference of the current government and that members also agreed that the terms of reference as formatted by the transition committee should be strictly complied with. “When the incoming government takes over government, they can come out with their programmes; they can come out with their own agenda; they can decide to come out with policies the way they feel like.”
But that may not be the last on the development. It is also expected that the parties will still come out with the truth about the truth of the disagreement between the two committees because already, there are pointers to their differences.
For instance, the Lagos State APC Publicity Secretary and Chairman, Conference of APC State Publicity Secretaries, Mr. Joe Igbokwe attributed the development to attempt to uncover looted funds by the incoming government.
“We need to get to the money. They have taken the money. They have crippled the agencies. If they go without saying where the money is, there is no way the incoming government can operate. We must take whatever they have taken. That is the only way we can operate and you know there are great expectations on the incoming government and the people don’t want excuses,” he explained.