Jonathan hands over power May 28

The Minister of Information, Mrs Patricia Akwashiki, disclosed this to State House journalists after the council meeting.

The minister stressed that the president would hand over the affairs of the country to Buhari at a dinner on the eve of the May 29 Democracy Day.

“By May 28, the president intends to have the formal handing over done at a dinner so that we can reserve the 29th for the incoming (government). By May 28, we expect to have concluded one-way governance 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 what 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 that is coming up on the May 29”, she said.

Akwashiki said Jonathan also directed all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government to submit their handover notes to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) by April 20.

She said the president also emphasised that he would require another little briefing from all the MDAs to indicate inherited projects initiated by his administration and how far they had been executed “and the level of completion; whether completed, ongoing or abandoned”.

She said: “You know we’re already in transition. So, there is very little to report what we discussed with the president in council. He emphasised on 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; next Monday. So, we’re going to be very busy this weekend putting our handing over notes together.

So, that was it at the council meeting. We discussed other issues, but we were particularly paying attention to the transition and how to make it effective.

“As you are all aware, we have a transition committee already set up by president, headed by the vice president. Other than that, we have an inaugural committee that is headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. So, everything we are doing, we are doing to achieve smooth transition, getting all our notes together”.

Asked whether the FEC meetings would continue or be on hold, the minister said: “It is for the MDAs to submit their notes to the SGF who will handle the total package of the handing over to the incoming administration. It doesn’t mean that these are the exact notes that will be passed on. 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 you submit everything before they pass it to the incoming government”.

Akwashiki noted that activities of the incumbent administration would continue until May 29 when the president-elect would take oath of office .

She said the council also decided that all pending contract approvals and every other thing requiring Jonathan’s approval be submitted before May 13.

According to her, the FEC took this decision because Jonathan’s administration does not want Buhari’s government to accuse it of “rushing projects”.

The minister also disclosed that the incumbent administration would hold its last executive council meeting on May 20 with a valedictory service.

She said: “That is not to say that governance has stopped. Of course, we are in government until the day the president-elect takes oath of office. There is no space or vacuum. There are things happening. And if you have any pending contract approval, it has to be submitted before the 13th of May. 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 the Federal Executive Council meeting every week, the last one that will be the valedictory one will be on May 20. So, governance is not stopping, we are still working and in the event you have approvals, it must be concluded before 13th of May”.

Our correspondent reports that the Ministers of Petroleum Resources, Dizeani Alison-Madueke and her finance counterpart, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, were absent at today’s council meeting; the first to be held after Jonathan lost the March 28 presidential poll to Buhari.