President-Elect’s Nominees Bagudu, Edun Join Transition Council
President-elect Bola Tinubu has nominated Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu and one-time Lagos State Commissioner for Finance Olawale Edu into the Presidential Transition Council (PTC).
Chairman PTC Boss Mustapha announced this during the maiden media briefing where he introduced Bagudu and Edu to other members of the council in Abuja yesterday.
Mustapha also said that the council, which was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on February 14, has started functioning.
Buhari, in line with Executive Order 14, which was signed on February 7, set up the 24-member council, including two nominees of the President-elect.
Mustapha, who is also Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said that since its inauguration, the council had met four times with the one held yesterday being the 5th.
He assured that the transition process was on course and that all efforts were being made to ensure that on May 29, there would be a peaceful transfer of power to a new President.
He said: “This process of an interface is necessary so as to keep Nigerians abreast of developments, build inclusiveness and lay a solid foundation for a peaceful transition of power in our country. The Presidential Transition Council which was inaugurated on 14th February 2023 is made up of 24 members, which includes two persons from the President-elect’s team.
“After the declaration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the president-elect, the PTC requested him to nominate his representatives on the council as provided in the Executive Order. The President-elect nominated Atiku Bagudu, the governor of Kebbi State and Chief Olawale Edun both of whom have since joined the process actively.”
He also said that to ensure a smooth transition process and make its work more efficient, the PTC broke into three committees.
According to him, the first is Inauguration Committee which is responsible for organising the swearing-in and the inaugural parade; working out the details of programmes and other logistics necessary for the successful inauguration.
“This committee is headed by the SGF with 15 members and is working through 13 sub-committees to facilitate effective planning and execution of the inauguration activities.
These sub-committees are Media and Publicity; Church Service; Juma’at Service; Protocol and Invitations; Transport and Logistics; The Inauguration Lecture; Ceremonial Parade; Venues and Swearing in; Medical; Inauguration Dinner/Gala Night; Post Inauguration Luncheon; Accommodation and Children’s Day Celebration.
“The President-elect has also been requested to nominate 13 persons that will work across the 13 sub-committees. The sub-committees have been working round the clock to ensure that all preparations are in place for a smooth inauguration ceremony.
“The second committee is the Transition Documents Committee which is headed by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. The committee is responsible for compiling all policies, programmes and projects of this administration in the form of a compendium that focuses on this government’s nine priority areas.
“It is also in charge of ensuring the preparation of sectoral briefs and handover notes of the current administration for the incoming administration. The committee is working assiduously to finalise the compilation of these documents.
“The third committee is the Facilities, Security and Intelligence Committee. The duty of this committee is to organise necessary facilities, including furnished office and personnel for the President-and Vice-President-Elect and their transition team; Provision of security for the President and Vice-President Elect; Provision of covert and overt security before, during and after the 2023 Presidential Inauguration, including venues of events, hotels, airports, entry points, roads and general surveillance of the FCT(Federal Capital Territory). This committee is headed by the National Security Adviser (NSA).”
The SGF said that the committee has been active and that the refurbishment of offices for the President-elect and Vice-President-elect has been completed and that while the facility at the Defence House is ready, security personnel of the Department of State Service (DSS) and the Nigerian Police Force have also been deployed to the President-elect and Vice-President-elect.
He added that protocol officers have also been assigned to both the President-elect and Vice President-elect from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
“As part of the transition, four members of the President-elect’s team will be joining the Federal Government delegation to the Spring meeting of the World Bank,” Mustapha added.
