Buhari's aide blames Jonathan for delay in formation of cabinet

President Muhammadu Buhari's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, has accused former president, Goodluck Jonathan, of causing the delay in the formation of the president's cabinet in 2015.

Buhari had defeated Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election and was sworn in on May 29, 2015. However, his cabinet was not formed until November 2015, with months of public condemnation for his slow action.

While speaking during an interview on Channels Television's Sunrise Daily on Monday, December 17, 2018, Phrank Shaibu, the Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, a presidential candidate, said Buhari's failure to promptly form a cabinet negatively affected the economy.

In response, Shehu said it was Jonathan's decision to not cooperate with Buhari's transition committee that led to the delay. He said Jonathan had told his ministers and permanent secretaries to not cooperate with Buhari so as to prevent having two governments at the same time.

He said, "It took him (Buhari) time to form a cabinet because the outgoing administration in 2015 did not cooperate with the transition committee.

"The president was given handover notes 48 hours to the handover of power and for whatever reason, the president at that time (Jonathan) determined that the questions that President Buhari was asking amounted to running a second government in office and he came out to all his ministers and permanent secretaries not to cooperate with President Buhari that this country would not have two governments running at the same time."

He said Jonathan's action meant Buhari had to learn things while in office before he could assemble his cabinet.

Shehu also noted during Monday's interview that the Buhari-led administration has created at least 12 million new jobs in the agriculture sector since he was sworn in.