Former governor of Lagos state, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is currently pulling the strings for the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari’s transition team.
Buhari is expected to constitute his transition team which will consist of politicians and private sector players that will ensure his smooth takeover from the outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan administration.
The team which will be announced soon is expected to commence work with the presidency after the governorship and state assembly elections.
Tinubu is expected to make inputs into the list but his choices might see him clash with Buhari. A chiefain of the APC told Believeafrica.net that he was aware that Buhari wants a good mix of politicians and private sector players as members, and would likely review the list of members Tinubu selects.
He said, “I can tell you with certainty that the president-elect’s transition committee will comprise politicians and private sector members.
“We are also aware that Tinubu has drawn up a list on who he would like to see on the committee, but Buhari is likely to review the list,” he stated.
He further revealed that when the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation was set up last year, Tinubu appointed all the directors on the team until it was changed.
“You would recall that we had the likes of Dele Alake, a Tinubu loyalist, appointed as Communications Director and what have you, but he was dropped for Garba Shehu a few weeks later,” he said.
The source who said people close to Buhari are aware that Tinubu has zeroed in on who should be appointed to the Finance, Petroleum and Justices Ministries, among others, but would be hugely disappointed.
“We are aware that he wants to recommend the Deputy Managing Director of Oando Plc, Mr. Mofe Boyo, as Minister of Petroleum Resources; his former Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Wale Edu, as Minister of Finance; and someone else for the Ministry of Justice.
“But it is not clear what the final decision will be, as Buhari, though reticent and tends to keep things close to his chest, has to find the right balance between meeting the expectations of Tinubu, the five governors who defected from the PDP to APC, and members of Buhari’s team who have been with him during his 12-year quest for the presidency,” he revealed.
He also revealed that Buhari has been warned by his close associates from the North against yielding too much to Tinubu’s demands.
Their argument is that Buhari has already conceded the vice-presidential slot to Tinubu, and so the former Lagos governor should make his demands reasonable.
It was learnt that if the realignment of northern forces behind Buhari are not handled with tact, cracks are likely to emerge in the APC sooner rather than later.
Just recently, Tinubu was described as the gray cardinal behind President Jonathan’s defeat by the Financial Times.
