Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday approved the setting up of a council that will facilitate the transition to a new president who will be selected in the elections scheduled later this month, reported Reuters.
The 80-year-old Buhari, who is barred from contesting the election as per the country’s constitution, is serving his second and final term. He is the second president who has successfully completed two terms in office since the end of military rule in 1999.
“The new Executive Order puts in place a legal framework for the seamless transition of power from one Presidential Administration to another,” the Nigerian President said in a statement.
He said the transition council will be launched on February 14, Tuesday and it will be led by the country’s secretary to the federation. The council will facilitate and manage the 2023 transition program, the sixth edition since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999.
Members of the council include the head of the civil service of the federation, the permanent secretary of the ministry of justice, the solicitor-general of the federation, representatives from the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Cabinet Affairs Office, Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Office of the SGF, and the State House.
The council will also include the Nigerian chief of defense staff, the country’s national security adviser, the director-general of the National Intelligence Agency, the chief registrar of the Supreme Court, the director-general of the State Security Service, the inspector-general of police, and two other representatives selected by the president-elect.
The three candidates who are the top contenders vying to succeed Buhari are Bola Tinubu from the ruling party, Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition party, and Peter Obi from a smaller party.
The presidential election is set to take place on Saturday, February 25. A newly elected Nigerian president will likely be sworn in on May 29.
