The outgoing president of Nigeria, Chief Goodluck Ebele Jonathan through the minister of information, Senator Patricia Akwashiki had said that the president will perform handling over on May 28th at a dinner ceremony.
Senator Patricia Akwashiki had said in her statement :
By May 28, the President intends to have the formal handover done at a dinner so that we can reserve May 29 for the incoming government
Nigeria as a country have always observed its handling over date on May 29, the same date of its democracy. They had always done this since the 1999, the return of democracy to civilians. The handling over is also a time the outgoing president will present the instrument of authority to the incoming government, while members of public, national and local media, foreign dignitaries look on. This is a tradition for the past 16 years.
But some members of the APC are rejecting this new rule from PDP, the man who spoke to reporters anonymously said, from the security perspectives, this is a trap and we are rejecting it, he said.
He said :
How can anyone explain a situation where an outgoing president and his team will conveniently excuse themselves from an event where they are supposed to play a role when the President-elect and the Vice-President- elect are supposed to be present?
According to members of APC, the country will be left without a president from that night until the early morning of May 29th, which according to the constitution is not allowed. The country is not allowed to be without a president for 1 hour.
If Jonathan hands over on the 28th, who accounts for the hours before the morning of the 29th when the Chief Justice of the Federation is to administer the oath of office and the oath of allegiance?
What if there is even a sinister motive to this whole saga? As the President of the nation; who will still be the Chief Security officer until he hands over, there is no excuse that is strong enough to excuse him from the event.”
A member of the Buhari campaign group, Mr Rotimi Fashakin said that :
That statement is loaded and it shows that the Nigerian people should not rest yet that there is still ominous signs which we should never take for granted. If Jonathan truly said he is handing over on the 28th it presupposes that he will be absent on the 29th.
Number one, if he hands over on the 28th to the President-elect, does Gen. Muhammadu Buhari start to act effectively on that date? The answer is an emphatic NO.
GMB does not start to act on that date, if you get what I mean. Handing over to GMB on that date is not only meaningless, it is stupid. It has no meaning in law, or reality. It means that for 24 hours before GMB takes over there will be a vacuum.
He further argued that on the side of morality, Nigeria borrowed its constitution substantially from the American Constitution, and as such, it should learn a thing or two about how it operates.
There was never a time in recorded history where an outgoing American President, who is hale and hearty, will absent himself from the handover ceremony of his successor no matter their political differences.
At the moment all the legal teams of the APC have been put on high alert after the announcement. At this time, the APC has also put a hold to their ministerial appointment.
Do you think the PDP or the president is planning any sinister move? Share via comment.