Buhari Blasts PDP, Seeks Institutionalized Transitional Framework

President Muhammodu Buhari

President Muhammodu Buhari, who on Monday blamed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the delay in constituting his cabinet, is seeking for an Institutionalized transitional framework in the country. He explained that the incomprehensible handover detail from the immediate past government of the PDP was largely responsible for the delay in constituting his cabinet.

Buhari also said that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was in the dark about the state of affairs of government activities when he was sworn-in, saying he spent two months taking briefings from various government ministries and agencies.

The Lead report continues:

"The inadequacy of the handover notes contributed in no small measure to the delay in constituting my cabinet, as I needed to have a clear idea of what my Administration was inheriting. This explains why, upon assuming office, I had to take briefings from ministries, departments and agencies for almost two months, even as I had to attend to other serious issues of governance," he said.

The President who spoke at the Transitions Stakeholders Dialogue organised by the National Democratic institute (NDI) in Abuja, observed that the PDP was caught unawares by results of the last general election, adding that the party was not mentally prepared for the transition.

According to the President, had a system been in place, real-time information would have been available to assist the incoming government to quickly settle down, form its cabinet and go about the business of governance.

"The then ruling government was completely caught unawares by the outcome of the election, they were not mentally prepared for the outcome of that election, they were unable to put in place structures that will make the transition seamless," he stated.

The President, who was represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed disclosed that the absence of a coherent transition details almost plunged Nigeria into crisis, adding that the inadequacies in the handover notes prepared by the PDP administration delayed the business of government this far.

"This almost marred the transition process that followed, because our country lacks an Institutionalized transition system, the then ruling government simply did not know what to do, and unpatriotic elements exploited the situation, which almost led to a national crisis."

He added that 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 will 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."

Buhari who said the transition committee constituted after APC's electoral victory expected the outgoing government would provide a comprehensive report on the state of the economy, the security situation, infrastructure development or deficit and social issues, among others, noted the APC transition committee got the exact opposite of what was expected.

"What we got was the exact opposite of what we expected. The team put in place by the outgoing government did not for once sit down with our own transition committee to discuss the nitty-gritty of what we were inheriting. The incoming government was completely left in the dark, and only got the handover notes four days to the handover date.

"The result was that the 19-member transition committee, led by Alhaji Ahmed Joda, had to turn itself into a resource group by dividing itself into five groups covering Finance and Economy, Security, Social Issues, Good Governance and Foreign Affairs. The committee then invited experts and resource persons to make presentations to it on the various issues.

"It was good that the committee took that action because when the outgoing government finally sent in its handover notes, they were not as helpful as they ought to have been. The notes did not disclose the information that would help the incoming government."

The President however promised to put in place, an institutionalized system of transition in other to avoid repetition of the ugly experience.

"It is absolutely important, therefore, that we put in place an institutionalized 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."

He noted that  Nigeria must look at what obtains in the world's older and more advanced democracies, adding that transition in advanced democracies  are clear and unambiguous, and it is the reason why they have been able to avoid the kind of tension and uncertainty that we experience in these parts.