Buhari ready to hand over to Tinubu on May 29, Presidency reassures

The Presidency has reacted to reports quoting President Muhammadu Buhari to have said that he would not hand over power to the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, come May 29, 2023.

According to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, the report was a fabrication of the purveyors and should not be taken seriously by Nigerians.

Shehu stated this in a statement on Friday, March 24, 2023, where he also condemned the attribution and circulation of such a quote to President Buhari by those he called the “fake news brigade.”

While describing the reports as “outrageous and fake,” the presidential spokesman explained that the Transition Committee, consisting of representatives of the outgoing administration and the incoming one has been meeting almost on a daily basis to plan the handover to the Tinubu/Shettima administration.

The statement patly read: “How can you vigorously campaign for somebody, vote for him and then say you won’t hand over to him? This beggars belief.

“The situation is pretty pathetic since their ownership is politically partisan in today’s politics, in fact a loser in the presidential election. Instead of talking about issues, they repeatedly sell lies in the hope that people believe them as truth.

“The government is already in transition phase. The Transition Committee, made up of representatives of the outgoing administration and the incoming one is meeting on an almost daily basis planning the handover to the Tinubu/Shettima administration. Thirteen committees as offshoots of the main committee, some, to arrange military drills and pulling out of President Buhari, are either all at work or soon to be. So far, everything is going very well and there is no indication of any hitches.

“As for the President, the Daura community has begun their preparations to receive their son back after the successful administration of the country for two terms of eight years. He, for his part, is eager to return home to enjoy his retirement.”