Strong suspicions are aroused that the transition process is not going smoothly in those states as a result of the departing governors of many states allegedly not cooperating with their successors.
As a result of the development, there is unrest as the state’s financial health is being examined by the panels set up by the incoming governors.
Bello Matawalle, the governor of Zamfara State, was accused of failing to cooperate with the incoming administration prior to Dauda Dare’s inauguration on May 29.
The state’s PDP publicity secretary, Faruku Ahmed, emphasised in an interview on Monday that Matawalle had left the state and had been avoiding the governor-elect ever since he failed to win reelection.
Matawalle, according to Ahmed, had left the state two months earlier and was refusing to assist with the transition strategy of the new administration.
Ahmed stated that “Governor Bello Mattawalle is not willing to cooperate with the committees appointed by the incoming governor to ascertain the actual state of affairs.” The departing administration of Dauda Lawan Dare has been contacted in an effort to gather some important information.
The incoming governor appointed subcommittees to visit the ministries, departments, and other agencies in order to gather pertinent information because Governor Matawalle is unwilling to prepare handing over notes.
He blasted the critics of the committee that the newly elected governor formed to investigate state ministries, departments, and other government organisations.
He said Dare had every right to appoint committees to provide him with pertinent information on the activities of the departing administration “so that he would know where to start and how to recover some government properties and funds allegedly diverted by the outgoing administration of Governor Bello Matawalle in the last four years.”
The incoming governor recently established a committee under the leadership of a former Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Abubakar, to ensure a smooth transition and takeover of power on May 29.
Because Governor Matawalle is unwilling to cooperate with it, the appointed committees will discover the truth of the situation for the incoming administration.
We won’t wait until the delivery date as a result. “We will continue to invite senior government employees and elected officials to come and clarify,” the PDP spokesman said.
The newly elected governor is criticised by the APC
The Zamfara State All Progressive Congress’ publicity secretary, Yusuf Idris, called the assertion that Mattawalle had left the state false and criticised it.
The governor had only left the state to attend important events, Idris said over the phone.
He asserted that Ahmed was unable to confirm the governor’s presence in the state.
He said, “Governor Matawalle has been in the state, but he returns to take part in some significant events for the state’s advancement. Matawalle’s reputation is being tarnished by whoever made the claim that he hasn’t been active since he lost the election.
“I want people to understand that whether the governor is in the state or not, government operations go on as usual.”
Dare was criticised for appointing committees to compile information on the operations of ministries, departments, and agencies by Alhaji Ibrahim Dosara, the state’s commissioner for information.
Dosara asserted in a statement that this was illegal because Matawalle was still in office as of May 29.
He therefore asked that no information be shared with the incoming administration by MDAs or other organisations without first receiving permission from the transition committee that the outgoing administration had selected.
The statement said, in part, “This is to inform the general public that it has come to the notice of Zamfara State government that some members of the incoming government transition committee are currently going around ministries and departments of the government gathering information and conducting investigations into the activities of the MDAs.”
There doesn’t seem to be any love lost between the incoming administration in Benue and the governor-elect, Rev Father Hyacinth Alia, following the controversy surrounding the two transition committees that Governor Samuel Ortom and Alia established.
Prof. Tony Ijohor, SAN, the secretary to the state government, and his committee, according to Daniel Ihomun, the state’s APC publicity secretary, were not being very cooperative when speaking on behalf of Mike Iordye, the transition committee chairman.
He also lamented that the presidential lodge, which was supposed to serve as the governor-elect’s temporary home, had not yet undergone renovations.
He said, “The outgoing administration has been hiring more people at a time when it is unable to pay those who have worked for more than 10 months; it is unable to pay pensioners, yet it is hiring more people to put more burden on the incoming administration.
The question is why now given that this government hasn’t made a hiring decision in more than seven years.
The state government has stated that it will formally cede authority to the incoming administration on May 28.
Mike Inalegwu, the commissioner for information and orientation, addressed the media following the State Executive Council meeting and explained that this would enable the incoming administration to celebrate on May 29 and cut the drawn-out transition processes.
The departing Umar Ganduje administration in Kano State was also accused of failing to cooperate with the Dr. Bappa Bichi-led transition team for the New Nigeria Peoples Party.
The committee asserted in a recent press conference that Ganduje was undermining the transition strategy by refusing to provide the necessary assistance.
In a statement to our correspondent, Sanusi Tofa, the governor-elect’s chief press secretary, said that “it was after that press conference we started getting cooperation, but not full cooperation or as expected.”
The Ganduje administration, however, allegedly provided the NNPP transition committee with everything it needed, according to a senior state government official who was reached by phone on Monday. Under the condition of anonymity, the official spoke.
The official urged patience in order to ensure a smooth transfer of power on May 29 because he was pleased with the committee’s performance so far.
The same problem is reportedly happening in Abia State, where tensions between the transition committee set up by the state’s incoming governor, Alex Otti, and the outgoing governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, have been reported.
The delay in the delivery of the handover documents hindered the committee’s work, according to Rev. Fr. Christian Anokwuru, Otti’s representative on the Abia State Government Handover Committee.
In Anokwuru’s words, “it is expected that the outgoing administration would make the handover documents available to the governor-elect early enough to allow him to study the content before May 29,” getting information about the state’s finances might be challenging.
“It was necessary to prepare the handover documents, which cover the actions of the government from April 2015 to April 2023.
Sadly, it appears that the government committee is more concerned with preparing for the swearing-in ceremony than it is with the documents. If the government insists that the handover documents will only be made available on May 29, the governor-elect must set aside some time to study them.
The transition committee reported that the programme was on track, so it seems like things are a little different in Plateau State.
The publicity subcommittee chairman, Yiljap Abraham, lamented that the outgoing administration had not set aside any money to support the inauguration.
We’re still waiting on the government to release the funds, he continued. We just need them to cooperate, please. The inauguration of the governor-elect has already been scheduled for May 29. However, no money has yet been given to the transition committee.The incoming governors are criticised for skipping transition panels.
He said, “We are still awaiting the government in that regard(release of funds). We just hope that they will cooperate. We have a date already fixed for the inauguration of the governor-elect and that is May 29. But for now, no funds have been released to the transition committee.”
