THE WILL NEWS
The political circuit in Nigeria is working full time for those who want a stake in the incoming Federal Government. With just about a month to the inauguration of President-elect Bola Tinubu on May 29, high-profile job hunters with impressive CVs are seeking an audience with him, THEWILL can authoritatively disclose.
With professional lobbyists in tow, many had besieged Mecca, thinking that the President-elect will be there to perform the Lesser-Hajj.
Spokesman for the President-elect, Tunde Rahman, had said on March 22 that his principal had travelled to France and London to get a deserved rest after the grueling electioneering.
“The President-elect decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) and the Ramadan Fasting that begins Thursday,” Rahman had said, adding, “While away, the President-Elect will also use the opportunity to plan his transition programme.”
Cashing in on the revelation contained in that statement, the lobbyists, who thought the solemnity of a religious event would provide a perfect cover for their game-plan, had flooded Mecca in search of Tinubu.
Primed for action, the lobbyists descended on Mecca to see the President-elect and make their case. But it all ended in an anti-climax. The President-elect was nowhere near Mecca, neither did he go for the Lesser Hajj.
He was 5.967.2 kilometres away in France. He avoided the Holy Land. Some other more pressing and demanding matters had captured the attention of the President-elect and holed him up in that seductive European country.
According to THEWILL investigation, Tinubu is in France for his medicals, clinicals as well as body and mind rejuvenation ahead of his inauguration in to office.
What his media aide had described in elegant language as “travelled abroad to rest and plan his transition programme ahead of May 29, 2023 inauguration,” was not out of place except that the health aspect was cryptically left out though for understandable strategic reasons.
Although the nature of the ailment could not be independently verified because of the unnecessary mystery surrounding it, THEWILL gathered that there was no cause for alarm: “The illness is unnecessarily being exaggerated,” according to a dependable source.
Right now, THEWILL can report that the president-elect is still in France and may not be able to make it to London as he’s set to jet into Nigeria to begin preparation for his inauguration by the middle of next week. THEWILL also gathered that Tinubu is fine and presently staying in a health farm in France.
However, Tinubu and his handlers have been working hard to keep prying eyes at bay and keep the public focused on the imminence of his administration.
Last Thursday, the President-elect announced a 13-man Presidential Inauguration Committee that will be responsible for the planning of a week-long event that will usher him and his VP-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, in as President and Vice-President of the country.
In a letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, a former Senator representing Borno North and current National Deputy Chairman (North) of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr Abubakar Kyari, will be Coordinator and Director of Finance and Budget of the Committee.
