The Secretary to the Government of the Federation(SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, has called for specific legislations to guide future presidential transition programmes.
Mustapha, who, is Chairman of the Presidential Transition Council (PTC), made the call in Abuja on Thursday at a World Press Conference to mark the beginning of the May 29 Presidential Inauguration activities.
He said it had become necessary for Nigeria toe the line of some countries, whose transition law date back to 1963, adding that it was critical.
The PTC chairman said in the absence of a legislation the PTC had to interface with leading democratic nations to ensure international best practices in the May 29 transition process.
“In furtherance of discharging its functions, the PTC interfaced with leading democratic nations including the US and the Republic of Kenya.
“This is part of its learning efforts to pick up useful lessons in line with international best practices.
“It is important to state that these countries have specific legislations on presidential transition, some of which date back to 1963.
“It is our expectation that a specific legislation on presidential transition in Nigeria would be passed soon,”he said,
He further said, “the PTC also built on the foundation laid by the Transition Technical Task Team (TTTT), which I inaugurated in December 2022.
“The Task Team is the product of a collaborative effort between the Federal Government and development partners and we remain grateful to these partners.
“The significance of the above is underscored by the desire of this administration to lay a solid foundation for seamless transition of power by institutionalising the process through legislation.”
The SGF said President Muhammadu Buhari approved the establishment of a 24-member PTC in February, through Executive Order 14.
“Mustapha said the council, which was inaugurated on Feb. 14, was inclusive of two representatives of the President-Elect.
The PTC, which, was established to ensure smooth transition of power on May 29, is made up of three committees.
They are, Inauguration Committee; under the Chairmanship of the SGF and the Transition Documents Committee; under the Chairmanship of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The third committee is the Committee on Security, Facilities and Intelligence under the Chairmanship of the National Security Adviser.
Meanwhile, the committees have sub-committees on Medicals, Transportation, Media and Publicity among others.
