As Nigerians eagerly await the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to commence properly, the presidency has pointed accusing fingers at former President Goodluck Jonatha for being responsible for the slow pace at which the Buhari administration has started.
Speaking via an interview with Sahara TV, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu called on Nigerians to be patient with President Buhari. adding that several governments in the South West region took several months before commencing proper work in 2011.
Shehu also blamed Jonathan for the slow start to the Buhari administration, stating that the handover notes from the outgoing administration was handed over about 2 to 3 days before the Friday, May 29, 2015 inauguration date, when everybody was making preparations towards the inauguration proper.
He said: “The President did say he would hit the ground running, but he has not been given the chance to hit the ground running because the administration that he succeeded — the Jonathan administration — did not deliver the handover notes until two or three days to the inauguration, meaning that these handover notes were submitted at a time when everyone had been consumed by (inauguration) activities.
“Unfortunately, there was no time to look at them until after the President had been inaugurated. The President was left in the dark. He had to understand what the situation was and what was on the ground. That was why he set up a different transition committee. It was only this week that the committee, led by Dr. Ahmed Joga, scrutinised the handover notes and handed over the report to him (Buhari).
“To be fair to him, he would have hit the ground running if the previous government had handed over the notes early. However, the Jonathan government did not even permit any minister to interact in any way with the Buhari Transition Committee. Evidently, we had our hands tied behind our backs until we took over. Thus, there is nothing shady about it.”
