– Three individuals knelt before Jonathan and persuaded him to congratulate Buhari despite the irregularities that marred the election
– They are former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke; former Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka and a former Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Affairs, Warpamo–Owei Dudafa
– The atmosphere at the Aso Villa around the period was gloomy
Reports have emerged on how former president and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2015 presidential, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, conceded defeat to the candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election and incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari.
According to a report on Nigerian Tribune, three individuals encouraged Jonathan to congratulate Buhari, despite the irregularities that marred the election.
Their names were contained in a book, “Against the Run of Play,” written by the chairman of Editorial Board, ThisDay newspapers, Olusegun Adeniyi.
Jonathan conceded defeat to Buhari in 2015 after some of his aide persuaded him to do so
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The trio of former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke; former Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka and a former Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Affairs, Warpamo–Owei Dudafa, were, in the book, reported to have encouraged the president to make the call to Buhari, congratulating him on the electoral victory.
Mohammed Bello Adoke
Adeniyi wrote: “The drama unfolding at the Villa on March 21, 2015, four days after the presidential election, would have profound implications for President Jonathan and the nation he led.
“Kneeling in front of Jonathan were his Attorney-General and Justice Minister, Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke; Aviation Minister, Mr Osita Chidoka and the Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Affairs, Mr Warpamo–Owei Dudafa.
Warpamo-Owei Dudafa
“The mission of the three officials was to persuade Jonathan to call and congratulate his opponent, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), even as the final results were still being collated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Seated a few metres away in the room were Vice-President Namadi Sambo; Akwa Ibom state governor, Mr Godswill Akpabio; Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission. Mr John Kennedy Opara and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
“Chidoka had co-opted Adoke and Dudafa to make the plea after a conversation he had with Jonathan the previous day. The president had acknowledged that the results were going against him and that he was going to concede. This was at a period when Nigerians were unsure of who would win, with many politicians within the then ruling PDP still betting on Jonathan.
Osita Chidoka
“He had already asked Chidoka and a few others, including his spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati, to give him a draft concession speech.”
Adeniyi also disclosed that there were evidence to discourage Jonathan to join league with forces asking him not to accept defeat, but he decided to pull “Nigerian back from the precipice, thus saving the country from what could have been a serious crisis, the ending of which nobody could have foretold.”
He said: “For Jonathan, coming to terms with defeat was culmination of what began four days earlier when he arrived at a polling unit in his hometown of Otuoke, Bayelsa state, with his wife, Patience, for accreditation under the full glare of the media. The country watched on live television as one card reader after another failed to read the president’s biometrics. After four tries and close to about 20 minutes, Jonathan and his wife had to be accredited manually.
“Despite his earlier misgivings about the use of card reader for the election, which was also opposed by his party, Jonathan resisted the temptation to chip at the credibility of the exercise by graciously reaffirming his confidence in the process.”
The book quoted the then INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, as telling newsmen when accosted about the challenges Jonathan faced during accreditation.
“President Jonathan is just one person,” he told reporters. “So, if we have problem with one person, as far as the election is going on well nationally, I’m not worried that there might be a delay. My interest is that we conduct a credible election.”
Adeniyi said the period was the first defining moment of the election.
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He said: “A disgruntled reaction could have easily set the wheels of political discord in motion and truncated the peace that had characterised the exercise up till that point.
“However by Monday, March 30, the atmosphere around Jonathan had been soured by reports suggesting the election may not have been free and fair as he initially thought, especially in some of the northern states.
“With photographic evidence, Jonathan was shown how underage people were allowed to vote at some polling units in Kano and Bauchi states.
“This inflamed those within the government who were urging Jonathan not to concede, even as it became increasingly clear that he had lost.”
He continued: “Among the strongest arguments for a potentially rigged election were the results from Kano State. Jonathan himself admitted as much to me in the course of our lengthy chat, saying, “go and check the results from Kano.
“The National Assembly result reflected that about 800,000 people voted but that of the presidential reflected a vote of about 1.8 million. I had reports of what happened but I decided that for such to be accepted, it meant that those who called themselves my supporters must have colluded. I was betrayed by the very people I relied on to win the election.”
The book described the atmosphere at the Aso Villa around the period as gloomy, adding that most residents of the seat of power were of the belief that the former INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, had conspired to rig Jonathan out of power.
Watch the ZENITHBLOG.com video below where a Nigerian hailed Jonathan for his performance in office.
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