May 29: I Will Not Disappoint Nigerians-Tinubu
…gets transition report, vows to tackle insecurity, power crisis
The outgoing President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday handed over the transition report to the incoming president, Ahmed Bola Tinubu
The President-elect, Bola Tinubu while collecting the report pledged to address the security and power crises, among other challenges confronting the country and also promised not to disappoint Nigerians.
His investiture with the country’s highest national honour of Grand Commander of Federal Republic preceded the ceremony. The Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima was honoured with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger by Mr Buhari.
The investiture ceremony took place at the State House Conference Centre of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, as part of the lineup of events for the 2023 Presidential Inauguration Ceremony slated for Monday.
According to Tinubu, he said, “understand the honour conferred upon him and his VP-elect and the magnitude of the task ahead.”
He said, “I am a simple man who is the beneficiary of the support and goodwill of the people of Nigeria. The people have put their trust in us. You have done your part, Mr President.
“Now, that great duty descends on me. I understand the meaning of the honour given to me today and of the task that awaits.
“I must run this race and must do it well. On security, the economy, agriculture, jobs, education, health and power and in all other sectors we must make headway. The people deserve no less. In this, I shall disappoint neither them nor you, Mr President.’’
After performing the handover of transition documents and transferring the baton of service to Tinubu, the President said he was confident to leave Nigeria in “capable hands.”
He said the conferment of the national honours was in accordance with the Honours Award Act, 1963, Laws of Federation of Nigeria, 2004 which mandates that Presidents/Heads of State receive the Honour of GCFR while the Vice Presidents are awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger.
“Today, with the authority vested in me, as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I have conferred the National Honour of GCFR on His Excellency Bola Tinubu and that of the GCON on His Excellency Kashim Shettima respectively,” he said.
Buhari said he had run a good race and finished his course as Nigeria’s leader for the past eight years.
“I am confident that Nigeria is in capable hands as we embark on this new chapter. I have run a good race. I have finished my course. It is now time for another to take up the baton. Once again, I congratulate President-elect, Bola Tinubu and Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima on their well-deserved investiture,’’ he said.
The outgoing President left a note of advice for the incoming administration saying, “As we celebrate this auspicious occasion, let us not forget the immense responsibilities that come with leadership. The challenges facing our nation are significant, and the President and Vice President have to address them with courage, wisdom, and compassion.’’
He also noted that the transfer of transition documents aligns with Executive Order No. 14 (2023) which he signed to avoid a repeat of the transition hitches his regime suffered when he came on board in 2015.
“To avoid a repeat of our 2015 experience, I signed Executive Order No. 14 of 2023, which establishes the legal framework for conducting presidential transitions at the federal level.
“The Executive Order establishes the Presidential Transition Council chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Ministerial Transition Teams headed by the Permanent Secretaries.
“The primary responsibility of these two ad-hoc bodies is to ensure that every piece of information that will help a new administration get off to a speedy start is made available in a usable format and promptly,” he explained.
