Buhari should hand over power to Osibanjo pending his full recovery – PDP

- The PDP calls on President Buhari to allow Vice President Osinbajo continue as acting president pending his full recovery from his undisclosed illness

- Makarfi disagrees with the APC position that Buhari can work from his official residence

- The PDP chieftain says he is praying for the president to recover from his illness

The People Democratic Party (PDP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to hand over power to Vice President Yemi Osibanjo pending his full recovery from his undisclosed illness.

The chairman of the caretaker committee of the PDP, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, made the call on Thursday, April 27, in an interview with the Nation newspaper.

President Muhammadu Buhari

Reacting to a statement credited to Lai Mohammed that the president would be working from his official residence, after failing to attend the weekly FEC meeting for three consecutive weeks, Makarfi said if President Buhari is not fit enough to remain in office, it’s better to tell the Nigerian people and allow the Vice President to continue as acting president and return to work after full recovery.

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He said “It cannot be okay and it can never be okay. My take is that if the President is not fully fit to stay in office, it is better that he tell Nigerians, so that the Vice President will continue to be Acting President, exercising the powers of acting president.

Then you run away from this kind of situation when we allow time for the President to fully recover and assume his mantle of leadership. Me as PDP person, as a human being, I will never wish any human being ill-will even if I disagree with you politically.

“So it does not matter that it is APC that is the person that is sick. May prayer is that he is fit to serve his term. As a politician, I equally want him to finish his term. So when some people begin to insinuate things, of what interest would it be to PDP should the President be unable to finish his term.

“We don’t wish him ill will, we want him to be well, we want him to be fit enough to be on seat when in 2019 we go for election and defeat the APC .

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“For a number of reasons, the PDP wishes the President well, for stability of this country, political stability and the fact that we want to defeat a sitting President. We don’t want any confusion politically in this country. It is not good for anybody and as a human being; I never wish anybody ill will irrespective of political differences”.

Meanwhile, a coalition of 40 Civil Society groups under the auspices of Change the Change Coalition (CCC) has threatened to stage mass protests if President Muhammadu Buhari failed to attend the next Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

360Basic reports that the national coordinator of the CCC, Mazi Ikechukwu Bismarck Oji, on Thursday, April 27, said they would mobilise Nigerians to Aso Rock for protest to compel Buhari to officially transmit power to Osinbajo, if he, once again, excuses himself from the next FEC meeting.

The national coordinator of the CCC, Mazi Ikechukwu Bismarck Oji, on Thursday, April 27, said they would mobilise Nigerians to Aso Rock for protest to compel Buhari to officially transmit power to Osinbajo, if he, once again, excuses himself from the next FEC meeting.

The group cautioned the All Progressives Congress (APC) regime against trying to re-enact the late President Umaru Yar ’Adua era when a cabal ruled the country while Yar’Adua was on life support machine.