Following the confusion that arose after the federal government’s announcement last week that President Goodluck Jonathan would hand over to President-elect Muhammadu Buhari on May 28 at a dinner, thus creating a power vacuum before the latter’s swearing-in the next day, the government stated on Wednesday that the hand-over ceremony would take place on May 29, Thisday reports.
Arising from the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC), the Minister of Information, Patricia Akwashiki, made the clarification at the Presidential Villa when she briefed State House correspondents.
She said a dinner would be hosted by Jonathan for Buhari on May 28, but it was not intended to be a hand over ceremony.
She said that the president-elect might be honoured with an award at the dinner.
According to the minister, all hand over briefs being coordinated by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, would be ready by May 28.
She allayed fears among federal government contractors who may be worried about the revocation of their contracts by the incoming government, saying government was a continuous process and all viable contracts would be sustained.
She stressed that if there has been any slow down in the execution of projects by contractors, it could only be as a result of the non-passage of the 2015 budget, and not because of concerns that the contracts might be revoked.
On the sacking of the former Inspector General of Police (IG), Suleiman Abba, just a few weeks to the hand over date, Akwashiki said it remained the prerogative of the president to take the decision and he had done what he felt should be done.
