President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, November 16, revealed the real reason why there was a lag in setting up his cabinet.
President Buhari and members of his newly formed cabinet.
Buhari made the revelation in Abuja at the National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) post-elections stakeholders’ conference.
He said that the process of setting up his team was delayed due to the inadequacy of the handover notes of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
He stressed that the handover notes failed to provide the needed information on what the new administration was inheriting.
The president, who was represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, explained that the handover notes, came four days to his assumption of office, but were vague and did little or nothing to help his cabinet.
He opined that the failure of the last administration to pave way for a seamless transition process showed that it never envisaged that it would be defeated at the poll.
Adding that, the last administration failed to put any structure in place for the country’s first ever real transition programme.
He went on to advocated for a systematic blueprint that would make seamless transition possible.
“Our experience in the last transition process was unique, despite the fact that we have held many general elections and transitioned from one government to another. Indeed, the last election heralded the first real transition in the history of our nation, being the first time that an opposition party will sweep the ruling party out of power.
“This probably explains why the then ruling government was completely caught unawares by the outcome of the election.
“For the government led by a ruling party that had vowed to stay in power for 60 years in the first instance, they were not prepared for any transition that would not be from themselves to themselves. How can they, when they felt invincible, judging by their perceived strength and assumed popularity and the huge resources at their disposal?
“Because they were not mentally prepared for the outcome of that election, they were unable to put in place structures that would make the transition seamless,”the president said.
According to The Nation, President Buhari said it is imperative that every democrat and politician imbibes the culture of true democracy, which implies that they will appreciate the power of the people in determining whether or not they remain in power.
He noted that:“It is absolutely important, therefore, that we put in place an institutionalised system that guarantees a seamless transition of power, whether intra, that is from a ruling government to itself, or inter, from the ruling power to the opposition. This will in turn reduce the kind of tension and anxiety that attended the last transition, and set the tone for a predictable and orderly transfer of power, thus solidifying the concept of governance as a continuum.
“In putting in place an institutionalised transition process, we must also look at what obtains in the world’s older and more advanced democracies. The fact that their system of transition is clear and unambiguous is the reason why they have been able to avoid the kind of tension and uncertainty that we experience in these parts.”
The NDI post-elections stakeholders’ conference which held in Abuja, was themed: “Strengthening the Nigeria political transition frameworks for democratic consolidation”.
Discussions where hinged on resolving the issues of government transition framework for Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Ben Murray Bruce, has advised Nigerians not to blame former president Goodluck Jonathan and his administration for all of the country’s problems.
The senator representing Bayelsa East in the National Assembly and chairman of Silverbird Group, said that if every new administration blames its predecessor, then Nigeria will find it difficult to fulfill its potential.
President Buhari and members of his newly formed cabinet.
Buhari made the revelation in Abuja at the National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) post-elections stakeholders’ conference.
He said that the process of setting up his team was delayed due to the inadequacy of the handover notes of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
He stressed that the handover notes failed to provide the needed information on what the new administration was inheriting.
The president, who was represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, explained that the handover notes, came four days to his assumption of office, but were vague and did little or nothing to help his cabinet.
He opined that the failure of the last administration to pave way for a seamless transition process showed that it never envisaged that it would be defeated at the poll.
Adding that, the last administration failed to put any structure in place for the country’s first ever real transition programme.
He went on to advocated for a systematic blueprint that would make seamless transition possible.
“Our experience in the last transition process was unique, despite the fact that we have held many general elections and transitioned from one government to another. Indeed, the last election heralded the first real transition in the history of our nation, being the first time that an opposition party will sweep the ruling party out of power.
“This probably explains why the then ruling government was completely caught unawares by the outcome of the election.
“For the government led by a ruling party that had vowed to stay in power for 60 years in the first instance, they were not prepared for any transition that would not be from themselves to themselves. How can they, when they felt invincible, judging by their perceived strength and assumed popularity and the huge resources at their disposal?
“Because they were not mentally prepared for the outcome of that election, they were unable to put in place structures that would make the transition seamless,”the president said.
According to The Nation, President Buhari said it is imperative that every democrat and politician imbibes the culture of true democracy, which implies that they will appreciate the power of the people in determining whether or not they remain in power.
He noted that:“It is absolutely important, therefore, that we put in place an institutionalised system that guarantees a seamless transition of power, whether intra, that is from a ruling government to itself, or inter, from the ruling power to the opposition. This will in turn reduce the kind of tension and anxiety that attended the last transition, and set the tone for a predictable and orderly transfer of power, thus solidifying the concept of governance as a continuum.
“In putting in place an institutionalised transition process, we must also look at what obtains in the world’s older and more advanced democracies. The fact that their system of transition is clear and unambiguous is the reason why they have been able to avoid the kind of tension and uncertainty that we experience in these parts.”
The NDI post-elections stakeholders’ conference which held in Abuja, was themed: “Strengthening the Nigeria political transition frameworks for democratic consolidation”.
Discussions where hinged on resolving the issues of government transition framework for Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Ben Murray Bruce, has advised Nigerians not to blame former president Goodluck Jonathan and his administration for all of the country’s problems.
The senator representing Bayelsa East in the National Assembly and chairman of Silverbird Group, said that if every new administration blames its predecessor, then Nigeria will find it difficult to fulfill its potential.
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