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We’ll avoid embarrassment that trailed Jonathan’s handover to Buhari – Presidency

Published

4 days ago

May 25, 2023

Nothing would go awry in the the transition of power between President Muhammadu Buhari, and Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, which is expected to be concluded on Monday by the inauguration of the latter as the 16th President of Nigeria, the Presidency, assured on Wednesday.

It said everything had been put in place to ensure a ‘perfect’ handover and takeover of power and that all parties would remain happy with the arrangement, unlike the experience between Buhari and his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, which was marred by many hiccups.

Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, who gave an update on the preparations, who revealed that Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, had 60 per cent of the total invited guests, recalling the security breaches that marred the Buhari-Jonathan transition.

For instance, he cited a situation where the former President, was denied the privilege of using the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport on his way to returning to his Bayelsa State, and a situation where his successor received a handwritten handover notes, saying these would not be allowed to happen in the case of Buhari, who had signed an executive order which would expressly ensure a smooth transition.

“When former President Jonathan handed over to President Buhari at the Eagle Square on May 29, 2015, there were very embarrassing moments that followed reportedly. In fact, the former President trended at some point because the story was told that by the time he got to the airport, security operatives would not allow him the use of the Presidential Wing of the airport, and all of that.

“So, all of these things have been foreseen. So, you would expect a perfect process of exit and incoming processes involving the two leaders, that is the outgoing president and the incumbent president,” he stated.

Informing that the State House has now been emptied for Tinubu to bring in his own employees, especially political appointees, he also explained the reason for conferment of national honours on Tinubu and Shettima Thursday, four days to the inauguration, against the tradition of giving them out on the day of inauguration, saying the committee set up by the president had visited Kenya and the United States to learn how the handover could be better done.

Reiterating that only 40 per cent of expected guests were invited by the Federal Government, including foreign missions, he said there was massive interest by people who wanted to be present, adding that those who thought they played one part or another in the process leading to the handover would also want to be there, meaning that the presidency was expecting ‘a huge crowd full of enthusiastic and very keen people.

He said the President, had since quit the main building of the Presidential Villa for the smaller Glass House, for Tinubu, on whom the choice of when to move in and with whom lay with, adding that Buhari, did not decide until the third day.

Acknowledging the current buzz around Tinubu, he said: “You can’t change human beings. So, the man of the moment obviously is the incoming President. So, you will expect people, who will come around him, but I think the case of Jonathan was different, because I think again, there was desertion by a number of people around him who felt disappointed that he chose to be patriotic, nationalistic and accepted defeat.

“And quite a number of people, who were within his camp were not happy with that. So, yes, there was a desertion, but I think in the case of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Villa had never been like the party headquarters for him in the last eight years

“Visitors come, but there has been some decency in all of these things. And I don’t think that we’re witnessing any spectacular desertion of the place.”

The presidential spokesman, who also confirmed that the relationship between Tinubu and Buhari remained cordial, said: “It’s going to be a perfect relationship, because it is going to be the same government although different administrations. He’s APC. When he (Tinubu) took his certificate from INEC, the first thing he did was that he flew to Daura and showed it to the president.

“The incoming president never gets tired of saying that the President allowed him to win. It is very significant. He allowed him to win in a free and fair process.”

News

Obi to Nigerians: Don’t be despaired, your mandate won’t be lost

Published

6 hours ago

May 29, 2023

Whirlwindnews

The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi says he is aware of some evil designs against himself and his supporters in the coming months.

The former Anambra State governor disclosed this in a statement released on his verified Twitter handle on Monday, May 29, 2023.

The release of the statement coincided with the inauguration of Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Nigeria’s President at the Eagle Square in Abuja.

I am aware of some evil designs being hatched against me and my supporters in the coming months. Efforts will be made to taint my image. Campaigns of calumny are being perfected to defame my character and diminish my hard-earned integrity.

— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 28, 2023

See full statement:

For all Nigerians, this is a time for deep reflection. It is also a time to re-examine our assumptions, even as we reaffirm our hopes. Let us calmly review our aspirations, in order to recalibrate our expectations and pin down the causes of our missed opportunities and disappointments.

We stand at that critical moment in time when, as a people, we must collectively come to grips with the reality of our injured destiny as well as the reasons for that injury. It is for us to reassess our plight as a young democracy and identify clear pathways to a better and greater future for us all. As we await the verdict of the election tribunal, I urge all Nigerians to use this opportunity to renew their commitment to the Nigerian ideal. That ideal remains noble and worth every sacrifice we can make.

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Nigeria remains our only patrimony and it is a patrimony we must protect, rather than violate. We have no other nation but this, so let us remain committed to rescuing and rebuilding it.

The judiciary is part of the democratic enterprise and a critical governance tool for determining the propriety of the decisions and actions of every citizen and every institution of state. To that extent, and for that reason, I urge everyone to treat it with the respect and dignity it deserves.

We expect that the Nigerian judiciary will use the election cases now before it to reaffirm its independence and integrity. It has to do so, for all our sakes and for itself.

Nigerians must, therefore, remain peaceful and law abiding. No matter the depth of anyone’s reservations about what is going on in the polity today, no matter the real and imagined provocations, and no matter the disagreement out there, we should remember that this will not last forever.

I remain committed, and untiring, in my determination to work with like-minded fellow Nigerians to end the curse of missed opportunities and squandered hope that has become our lot here.

I will never shrink from that original commitment, because I firmly believe that we must change from the present politics of criminality, and corruption, in order to make a new Nigeria possible.

I call on fellow Nigerians, especially the youths to remain steadfast, calm, patient, and peaceful. Our journey may be long and difficult but it is worth it in every way. Victory is assured.

We have to work together to move our beautiful country from corruption and criminality to a center of productivity rather than aimless consumption.

These schemes will aim at degrading our support base and confusing the public. But, no evil campaign will alter the substance of my character; nor diminish my patriotic commitment to a better Nigeria. It is about the future of our youths. it is about ending the Years of Locust.

In all of this, I thank Nigerians, our great party (LP) and the media. The latter, as the Fourth Estate of the realm, has remained a trusted ally.

This Estate must continue to guide our people on the immense promise of a future in a new Nigeria.

God bless Nigeria and protect the troops keeping us safe in this season of vaulting insecurity.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria. –PO

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Tinubu will unveil Ministers in two months *He’ll be different – Faleke

Published

6 hours ago

May 29, 2023

Whirlwindnews

James Faleke, lawmaker and Secretary of the now defunct All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC), has revealed that President Bola Tinubu would unveil members of his cabinet within 60 days.

Channels Television, which quoted him as saying on Monday, at the inauguration of of Tinubu and Kashim Shettima as president and vice-president of Nigeria was underway at the Eagle Square in Abuja, said the President, would , unveil his cabinet as soon as possible.

Faleke, who promised that the new President would bring a different approach to power, was quoted as saying: “Of course, within 60 days, that’s what the law says. He can announce anytime but I just know he must do it within 60 days.”

News

Tinubu: My stand on corruption, insecurity *How I’ll banish poverty in Nigeria

Published

6 hours ago

May 29, 2023

Whirlwindnews

Eradication of terrorism, waging war against corruption and battling the crippling poverty in Nigeria, would form the fulcrum of a new Nigeria President Bola Tinubu, says he would strive to put in place as his new government began hours ago after assuming the reins of power as the 16^th President, after Muhammadu Buhari handed over to him at an elaborate ceremony at the Eagle Square, Abuja, on Monday.

Vowing to defend Nigeria from all forms of terror, as well as end extreme poverty in the country, Tinubu, told Nigerians: “I will do that through job creation and food security and end to extreme poverty. I will ensure that corruption is tacked by strenghtening anti-corruption agencies.”

He also promised that his administration would discourage corruption through the introduction of a credit culture, stating: “Our government will continue to take proactive steps such as championing a credit culture to discourage corruption while strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the various anti-corruption agencies.”

It was also on a day the President, who had during his presidential campaigns, promised Nigerians that he would remove subsidy on petroleum products, made good his words by announcing suspension on them, adding that the era of payments on fuel was gone, as the 2023 Budget made no provision for fuel subsidy “and more so, subsidy payment is no longer justifiable.”