Nobody will persuade Buhari to remain beyond May 29 — Shehu

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Friday, in Abuja, said his principal, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), would not be persuaded into tweaking the constitution or implementing activities that may undermine a peaceful handover of power on May 29, 2023.

“Given his own disposition, nobody would dare come into the Villa today and say, President Buhari, stay back don’t handover,” Shehu said at the State House mosque on Friday evening, where Buhari observed the Tafsir which had been ongoing for the past two weeks.

Shehu argued that talks about an interim government did not originate from the presidency and Nigerians can rest assured that “nothing will change” the handing over date.

On March 29, the Presidential Campaign Councils of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party challenged the Department of State Services to apprehend plotters of the interim national government.

Their appeal follows a statement by the Nigerian secret police, Department of State Service, revealing that some persons were plotting to stall Tinubu’s inauguration and install an interim national government instead.

On March 1, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.

The APC presidential candidate garnered 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, who polled 6,984,520 votes and the Labour Party’s Peter Obi, who scored 6,101,533 votes.

Following INEC’s announcement, Atiku and Obi rejected the results alleging that the election was rigged. More so, a former Anambra State Governor and statesman, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, said Tinubu would not be sworn in as President.

But speaking on Friday, the presidential spokesman said, “You can see clearly that he’s looking at the exit door and absolutely nothing will stop President Muhammadu Buhari from leaving on May 29.

“Nigerians can rest assured that from here, nothing will change. Before this time, persuaders would have filled up this place, begging the President to stay, amend the constitution, and change the rules.

“But given his own disposition, nobody would dare come into the Villa today and say, President Buhari, stay back, don’t hand over.”

Friday’s observance marked the closing ceremony of this year’s Ramadan Tafsir in the State House Mosque by the Chief Imam, Sheikh Abdulwahid Sulaiman, who is proceeding to Saudi Arabia on lesser Hajj.

It is also Buhari’s last as President.

The Imam gave a rendition of the President’s work in the past eight years and prayed that he would hand over peacefully in a matter of weeks.