The All Progressives Congress, APC has accused the outgoing government of President Goodluck Jonathan of making moves aimed at frustrating a smooth handover of power on May 29th, adding that it has become clear that the Jonathan administration does not want to fully cooperate with the incoming government, despite its public posturing in that regard.

The party, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Abuja on Thursday, said the unnecessary vituperation against the incoming government of General Muhammadu Buhari by the Jonathan administration was an act of hostility and a patently misplaced aggression. This, the party said was because of the terms of reference of the Buhari Transition Committee and in reality, part of an orchestrated plot to sabotage the transition.

The APC also wondered why the concession of defeat by President Goodluck Jonathan after the April 28 presidential election should now be turned to a tool for continual blackmail by the Jonathan administration.

”We are sick and tired of being blackmailed by the Jonathanians. Gen. Buhari won the 28 March Presidential Elections fair and square, having satisfied both constitutional and other statutory requirements. We have no apology for our victory, and the concession of defeat – while it may have increased the political stock of President Jonathan – has by no means diminished the historic and emphatic victory of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress,” APC said.

According to the party, it is justified in its position that the Jonathan Administration is plotting to hinder a smooth transition of power because the outgoing government had earlier issued a memo to all ministries, departments and agencies to make sure their handover notes are ready by April 20th, the same government has now reversed itself and said the handover notes will not be ready until May 14th.

“With the new date, the Buhari Transition Committee will have little or no time to take a thorough look at the handover notes or seek clarification on knotty issues, effectively handing it (Buhari Transition Committee) a fait accompli as far as the handover notes are concerned. This does not augur well for a smooth transition and gives the impression that the outgoing Administration is trying to hide something.

“By its dillydallying on the date for the readiness of the handover notes from the MDAs, the administration’s posturing that it is ready to hand over has been exposed as nothing but a smokescreen,” it said.

The statement also frowned at what it described as illogical and strange, the claim by the Jonathan Administration that the President-elect was trying to set up a parallel government with the setting up of his own Transition Committee and given it terms of reference that are meant to guide the members on the discharge of their duties as members of that Committee.

“In case the Federal Executive Council has forgotten, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress was declared the winner of the March 28th Presidential Election by INEC. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is therefore today the President-elect and the All Progressives Congress the incoming government. It is therefore illogical to accuse the President-elect and the incoming government of setting up a parallel government.

“It is either the outgoing Federal Executive Council has something to hide or is bent on sabotaging the incoming government. There can be no other reasons for the misplaced aggression that was exhibited in that ill-intentioned, unprovoked and vitriolic statement from the Jonathan government,” the party said.

According to the APC, it decided to publish in full, the term of reference in question so as to put things beyond doubt and allow Nigerians to judge for themselves, if there are things in it that suggests the setting up of a parallel government.

The party however called on the Jonathan administration not to squander the goodwill the President earned by his gracious concession of defeat, adding that though it was momentous, it was not unprecedented in Africa, where power has changed hands peacefully between the ruling and opposition parties in several nations.

“Are they now saying that because the President conceded defeat, the incoming administration can no longer ask legitimate questions or seek clarifications that may arise from the handover notes.

“We will not surrender to any blackmail, subtle or otherwise. We shall ask questions and ask for explanations and clarifications whenever and wherever we deem such necessary. We cannot run a transparently honest government or fight corruption if we are prevented from asking legitimate questions and seeking clarifications from the outgoing government during the transition process. Let the Jonathan administration not tie our hands behind our back just because he conceded defeat after losing an election,” the party said.