President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday attributed the delay in his appointment of ministers to the late submission of the transition committee’s report on the Goodluck Jonathan administration to him.
The President said he was being careful in order not to make mistakes in appointing individuals especially to key positions such as in the finance and petroleum ministries.
“I don’t know why people are so anxious about ministers. Eventually we will have (them). But the main reason is that I have an interim committee which I agreed with former President Jonathan that the ministers of the outgoing government should hand over their notes or their documents to this interim committee so that a position can be prepared for the new government to start from with clear records from ministers.
“The ministers knew that they were going but the technocrats, the permanent secretaries and directors and so on, they know they would remain.
“If anything goes wrong they would be invited to explain, but unfortunately the outgoing government did not cooperate.
“So, what the committee did was to divide itself into about five sub-committees and get a resource person that was willing to come and bring the document, and so they prepared and I got the report I think three days ago.
“I was waiting for this report because I would like to know what position in the government especially in terms of finance and petroleum industry. So, I am not in a hurry to get ministers.
“I want to get ministers after at least I have seen the report because I don’t have to appoint a minister today and sack him the next week because this report would give me what actually happened in terms of security, economy of the country.
“And since I have to have ministers from politicians and technocrats, I wouldn’t (like to) make the mistake of getting somebody, who has been involved on account of accountability”.
Buhari said this while speaking to journalists at the Summit of the African Union in South Africa.
“If anything goes wrong they would be invited to explain, but unfortunately the outgoing government did not cooperate.
“So, what the committee did was to divide itself into about five sub-committees and get a resource person that was willing to come and bring the document, and so they prepared and I got the report I think three days ago.
“I was waiting for this report because I would like to know what position in the government especially in terms of finance and petroleum industry. So, I am not in a hurry to get ministers.
“I want to get ministers after at least I have seen the report because I don’t have to appoint a minister today and sack him the next week because this report would give me what actually happened in terms of security, economy of the country.
“And since I have to have ministers from politicians and technocrats, I wouldn’t (like to) make the mistake of getting somebody, who has been involved on account of accountability”.
Buhari said this while speaking to journalists at the Summit of the African Union in South Africa.
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