The reason why Buhari has not choosen any minister — Presidency

Firstclass newsline~Shortly before his May 29 inauguration, Buhari had
reportedly rejected plans by governors of the All Progressives
Congress the party leadership in the states to submit ministerial
nominees to him.
The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media,
Garba Shehu, in an interview withSahara TVon Saturday, argued against
comparing Buhari's government to such states as Kaduna and Rivers,
which have appointed some commissioners.
According to Shehu, following the 2011 elections, many South-West
governors took several months to form their governments.
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."
Shehu explained that the ministerial appointments had yet to be made
because the committee needed to conclude its findings first, an
800-page report of which was presented to Buhari on Friday.
On Wednesday, there was speculation that the Vice-President, Prof.
Yemi Osinbajo, was prevented from attending Buhari's meeting with the
National Security Adviser on the orders of the President.
The Vice-President was reportedly denied security clearance to attend
the meeting because of security reasons by the President.
In his response, the SSA said, "That is the creation of someone who
just wanted to write something. It was on the same day he travelled to
Sudan to represent the President, the government and the people of
Nigeria at the inauguration of the president of that country.
"He couldn't have been present in two places at the same time.
Osinbajo is the Vice-President of Nigeria. In the absence of the
President, he is the President. So, there cannot be dark corners into
which he will not be allowed. It is not true."
Speaking on the National Assembly crisis, the presidential
spokesperson expressed conviction that the party with the majority,
the All Progressives Congress, and the opposition party, the Peoples
Democratic Party, would coexist harmoniously.
On Tuesday, against the directive of the APC, Senator Bukola Saraki
was elected unopposed as President of the 8th Senate. Fifty-one
senators, include the party's preferred candidate, Senator Ahmad
Lawan, were absent. Saraki and Lawan have been engaged in a fierce
contest to clinch the Senate top job.
The other senators were at the International Conference Centre, on the
invitation of Buhari, who had called the meeting to resolve the
National Assembly leadership crisis, at the time Saraki was declared
Senate President.
Speculation had trailed Buhari's absence at a peace meeting, with some
arguing that Buhari favoured Saraki.
However, Shehu said, "It is a matter of courtesy that the office of
the President would be given that respect. The PDP, which issued a
statement saying the delay had embarrassed the country, should be
asked: How many times have they suspended the plenary of the National
Assembly, either the Senate or the House of Representatives, to go
into the PDP caucus?
"A party needs to meet to organise itself and it can't be taken for
granted. Buhari could not have failed in wanting to meet his party
members in order to convey an important message to them. And he has
not allowed that chance because at the time when he was setting out to
go, the National Assembly they had begun voting, hence the mission was
aborted.
"The fact that he said he would work with the National Assembly
(leadership) is consistent with his position as a principled democrat.
It is a body recognised by law that is independent of his control. He
cannot control them. They carried out a constitutional process and he
will work with them."
Firstclassnewsline.net