Goodluck reveals that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and several other ministers pressed him to reject 2015 election defeat

FORMER president Dr Goodluck Jonathan has revealed that several member of his cabinet including former finance minister Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala pressurised him to reject the results of the 2015 elections and refuse to concede defeat.

Three years ago, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared the winner of Nigeria's presidential elections, in what was the first time in the country's history that an incumbent president has been defeated by the opposition. Even before the official results were announced, the then President Jonathan went public conceding defeat, promising a smooth handover.

Speaking at the launch of his memoirs in Abuja yesterday, Dr Jonathan said that several leading members of his government and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), pushed against the move to accept defeat. However, Dr Jonathan said he turned down the advice from the likes of Dr Okonjo-Iweala, attorney-general Mohammed Adoke, aviation minister Osita Chidoka and his senior special assistant on domestic affairs Warpamowei Dudafa.

Contained in the book titled My Transition Hours, these revelations provided an insight into what happened in February 2015. According to Dr Jonathan, the election was marred with some irregularities, including the difficulty he faced before he could vote in his native Otuoke, in Bayelsa State.

He added that he conceded defeat principally because it was his belief that his ambition should not lead to loss of lives and property as it was the case in previous elections. At the launch of the book in Abuja yesterday on his 61st birthday, Dr Jonathan said he decided to conceded defeat to avoid the country descending into violence.

Among those who attended the launch were former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Senator Bukola Saraki, APC chairman Adams Oshiomhole, ex-heads of state Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalam Abubakar. Also in attendance were the former presidents of Ghana, Sierra Leone and Benin Republic John Mahama, Ernest Bai-Koroma and Boni Yayi, as well as House of Representatives speaker Yakubu Dogara, Akwuwumi Adesina, Ghali Umar N’Abba, Ibrahim Mantu, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Peter Obi, Jim Nwobodo and Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State.

Dr Jonathan wrote: “They were recommending sundry alternatives but I was quiet in the midst of their discussions. I hugged my thought, figuring out how to do that which was best for the country as my personal interest was receding rapidly and the interest of Nigeria looming large.

"I excused myself and left the sitting room and walked into my study. Even there, my mantra was a strong circle around me, supporting and comforting me, let the country survive, let democracy survive. My political ambition is not worth people being soaked in blood.

“More results flowed in and I could not wait anymore. The announcement of the final result could take issues out of all our hands. It was time for me to take action and bring peace to the nation. I felt I was destined by God at that point in time to inject the peace serum and douse the palpable tension in the country.

“I reached out for his telephone and placed a call through the State House operators at about 4.45pm. A peace I had never felt since my political sojourn descended on me. It showed me where I had been in the past 16 years and where I was then. I smiled at the thought of what I was about to do. I waited calmly for the person at the end of my call to answer.

“My aviation minister, Osita Chidoka, sought my permission to tweet my phone conversation with Buhari. I obliged and he did. The country was no longer waiting for the declaration of the election results. The nationwide tension automatically dissipated as through a red hot piece of iron had been dipped in a bowl of water. Thereafter, I addressed the nation.”