Jonathan hindering smooth transition, displaying misplaced anger – APC

The All Progressives Congress has accused the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration of plotting to hinder a smooth handover of power on May 29.

It says it is becoming apparent that the incumbent administration will not fully cooperate with the incoming government, despite its “public posturing” in that regard.

In a statement in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also described as “an act of hostility and a patently-misplaced aggression the unnecessary vituperation” against the incoming Muhammadu Buhari administration by the Jonathan government, ostensibly because of the terms of reference of the Buhari transition committee.

APC argued that the alleged “misplaced aggression” was part of an orchestrated plot to sabotage the transition.

It rejected the “continued blackmail” by the Jonathan government as a result of the President’s concession of defeat, wondering whether the concession, gracious as it was, had now become a shield for all wrong doings.

The party added, ”We are sick and tired of being blackmailed by the Jonathanians. Gen. Buhari won the 28 March Presidential election fair and square, having satisfied both constitutional and other statutory requirements. We have no apology for our victory, and the concession of defeat – while it may have increased the political stock of Jonathan – has by no means diminished the historic and emphatic victory of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress.”

Justifying its statement that the Jonathan administration is plotting to hinder a smooth transition of power, the party said while the outgoing government had earlier issued a memo to all ministries, departments and agencies to make sure their handover notes were ready by April 20, the same government had reversed itself and said the handover notes would not be ready until May 14.

APC said, ”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 givesthe 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.”

It described as illogical and strange the claim by the Jonathan administration that the President-elect was 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.

The incoming party at the centre wondered how on those terms of reference had become the concern of the outgoing Federal Executive Council.

It added, ”In case the Federal Executive Council has forgotten, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress was declared the winner of the March 28 Presidential Election by INEC. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is therefore today the President-elect and the APC 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.”