FG not cooperating on transition – APC

The party made the statement in response to remarks by a presidential aide who said the APC should talk less and plan more for the nation.
 Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Prof. Rufai Alkali, who made the remark on Wednesday, also accused the APC of trying to stampede the president out of office.
The federal government’s transition committee was inaugurated on April 13, and is headed by Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation Anyim Pius Anyim had told State House journalists then that the committee would interface with the president-elect’s transition committee on the May 29 handover event.
Anyim had also said the committee was saddled with the responsibility of receiving briefs from ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as well as preparing President Goodluck Jonathan’s handover notes.
“After we have collected our own briefs from the MDAs and then we put them together, we will then interface with the other committee (of the APC) so that whatever clarification they want, the questions they have, then we will be able to address them”, Anyim had said.
However, in a statement yesterday, National Publicity Secretary of the APC Alhaji Lai Mohammed wondered how his party could plan anything when the government has refused to cooperate in ensuring a successful transition
He said: “As we write, the Transition Committee of the FG has yet to hold a single meeting with our own Transition Committee, neither have they given us a line of handover note.
“As a matter of fact, the Jonathan administration has said the handover notes will not be ready until the third week of May, meaning just a week before the handover.
“What time then do we have to scrutinize the handover notes? How can we plan when we don’t even know which projects they have, which ones they have completed and which ones are outstanding?
“How can we plan when we don’t even know how many barrels of oil are sold per day?
“While their inauguration committee has been meeting with ours, their transition committee has yet to even meet with ours.
“How then can Prof. Alkali justify his statement that the Jonathan administration has been in a ‘transition mode’?
“Is it part of their transition mode that President Jonathan has been engaged in a rash of feverish last-minute appointments that, though may not have breached any known law, are patently in bad faith, morally repugnant and indecorous.
“They say they are in office until May 29th, but pray, are appointments the only function of government?
“Are there no problems crying for attention, such as the intractable fuel scarcity, the worsening power situation, the grounded economy and the missing Chibok girls?”
APC said in as much as the Jonathan administration is bent on provoking the incoming administration, creating confusion and even sabotaging the transition, the party (APC) has decided not to fall for their antics in the interest of peace.
The party reiterated its earlier advice to the PDP to shake off the trauma of defeat and gear up for the challenging task of being in opposition.
“They must however realize that being in opposition is not a walk in the park but like running a marathon in the desert where there are no oases or shades. The sooner they realize that, the better for them,’’ Mohammed, who is a member of the APC transition team, said.
He also criticised the Minister of Power for “reading the riot act” to the incoming government, not to even consider reversing the power sector privatization because its gains were “very obvious’’
He said if power sector reforms had been successful, Nigeria’s power situation could not have hit its lowest point in a long time.
After the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held on April 29, National Planning Minister Abubakar Sulaiman had put the work progress of the federal government’s transition committee at 80 percent, saying most of the MDAs had submitted their handover notes.
He had also stressed that as of April 28, almost all the MDAs that were advised to submit their briefs and handover notes had complied, except one or two ministries.
“The transition process is on course in terms of handover notes, and briefs, we’ve covered almost 80 percent of our assignments”, the minister had said.
Meanwhile, the Presidency has said that the chairman of the transition committee of President-elect General Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, is in touch with Vice President Mohammed Sambo.
The Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr Umar Sani, stated this in a telephone interview with our correspondent last night.
He said Alhaji Joda had lately visited his boss at the Presidential Villa in Abuja three times.
Sani said that the last time Joda visited Sambo was on Tuesday.
He however said he could not confirm what they discussed until he talks to his principal.