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With barely four days to the expiration of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration, some of his appointees have started currying the favour of the incoming President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, ahead of the May 29 inauguration.
This is according to the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, who revealed that some staff of the outgoing administration have started switching allegiance to Tinubu.
Even though he said it's normal for people to switch allegiance, Shehu noted that the manner in which these current set of appointees have been going about it is totally different from what former President Goodluck Jonathan experienced when Buhari was coming on board in 2015.
He made this known while speaking on an Arise TV programme on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.
Shehu said, “You can’t change human beings. So, the man of the moment obviously is the incoming president. So, you will expect people, who will come around him, but I think the case of Jonathan was different because I think again, there was desertion by a number of people around him who felt disappointed that he chose to be patriotic, nationalistic, and accepted defeat.
“And quite a number of people, who were within his camp were not happy with that. So, yes, there was desertion, but I think in the case of President Muhammadu Buhari, the villa had never been like the party headquarters for him in the last eight years."
According to him, there has been some decency in how people flock to the Aso Rock now, even as visitors still come and go. “And I don’t think that we’re witnessing any spectacular desertion of the place,” he added.
The Senior Special Assistant also reiterated that there's a cordial relationship between the outgoing president and his successor-in-waiting.
Shehu said, “It’s going to be a perfect relationship because it is going to be the same government although different administrations. He’s APC. When he (Tinubu) took his certificate from INEC, the first thing he did was that he flew to Daura and showed it to the president.
“The incoming president never gets tired of saying that the president allowed him to win. It is very significant. He allowed him to win in a free and fair process.”
It was gathered that some prominent members of the Buhari administration are lobbying to be part of Tinubu's government. While some are reportedly eyeing new roles, others are fighting to keep their present portfolios.
A report earlier in the week claimed that Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, is scheming to retain his role under the incoming administration while the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has also been linked with the position of Chief of Staff to the President-elect.