TheCable

‎President Goodluck Jonathan has ‎presented an executive summary of his handover notes to Muhammadu Buhari, his successor, saying he has done his best for the country.

The presentation was done inside the council chamber of the presidential villa.

Reading a 15-page speech during the occasion, Jonathan said ‎the notes would help to be of great assistance to Buhari’s administration.

“‎This will give you a mission statement of the commitment of this government for the past five years and the directions we are going that will help you to navigate,” he said.

“So it is my pleasure on behalf of the vice-president, members of the executive council and other senior functionaries to formally hand over these handover notes to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the president-elect who will assume office tomorrow.”

Jonathan also gave Buhari a copy of the national conference report, describing it as more important than the handover notes.

“‎There is another document that I will hand over to you. To me, this is more important than the handover notes,” he said.

“This is a document that was compiled by Nigerians, the report of the national conference 2014. We gathered almost 500 Nigerians from all walks of life, they were not influenced by government in any way. And most of the recommendations here, if it is followed, most of the gray areas, even in our politics, will smoothen out.

“Most of the areas where people complain bitterly, like corruption, everything in this document deal‎s with them. Some people here were members of that great body of about 500 eggheads.

“We were unable to implement because of the shortness of time. We have sent a copy to the national assembly, but it is a document that we are very hopeful that your government will look into and give it the attention it requires.”

Some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) witnessed the event.

President GEJ conducting the President-Elect around the official residence #AsoVillaTour pic.twitter.com/JoHLrg11hN

— Olusegun Dada (@DOlusegun) May 28, 2015

While receiving the notes, Buhari said he would not comment on them yet, but commended Jonathan for conceding the March 28 presidential election.

He said Jonathan could have made things difficult if he wanted to do so.

“Until I read and digest these notes from the president, I don’t think I will be in a position to make any strong contribution,” he said.

“But what I will say is since the telephone call you made, you have changed the course of Nigeria’s political history. For that, you have earned yourself a place in our history, for stabilising this system of multi-party democracy and you have earned the respect of not only Nigerians but world leaders.

“All the leaders that spoke to me and congratulated us for arriving at the point we arrived, mentioned this and I could understand a lot of relief in their voices that Nigeria has made it, after all, and this is largely owed to a situation.

“If you had wanted to make things difficult, you could have made things difficult and that would have been at the expense of lives of poor Nigerians, but you chose the part of honour and may God help all of us. Thank you very much, your Excellency.”

Earlier, Jonathan took Buhari on a tour of the presidential villa, just as Vice-president Namadi Sambo took‎ Yemi Osinbajo, the vice president-elect, on a tour of the vice-presidential wing of Aso Rock.

Photo credit: Bayo Omoboriowo