°°° Ministers knelt, begged Jonathan to concede

... .. . It pointed out that it was in the midst of the confusion that two ministers in Jonathan’s cabinet and Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs went on their knees to beg him to concede so as to steer Nigeria off the path of chaos.

“Kneeling in front of Jonathan were his Attorney-General and Justice Minister, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN; Aviation Minister, Mr. Osita Chidoka and Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Affairs, Mr. Waripamo-Owei Dudafa.

“The mission of the three officials was to persuade Jonathan to call and congratulate his opponent, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) 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 Governor, Mr. Godswill Akpabio; Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, Mr. John Kennedy Opara and the Co-ordinating Minister for 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 who would win, with many politicians within the ruling People’s Democratic Party still betting on Jonathan. He meanwhile, has asked Chidoka and a few others, including his spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, to give him a draft concession speech.

“The report had it that Jonathan’s mind about the election had been soured by his loyalists that the election had been compromised, particularly in the Northern states, where under-aged voters were allowed to cast millions of votes in favour of his opponent, Buhari.

It said: “With photographic evidence, Jonathan was shown how under-age 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. The general feeling within The Villa, a view fervently shared by Jonathan, was that the INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, the INEC Chairman, was part of a “northern conspiracy” against him.

“With that, Jonathan decided to keep all options open. This emboldened some of his supporters who were desperate enough to want to disrupt the election.

“Among the strongest arguments for a potentially-rigged election were the results from Kano State, Jonathan himself admitted,” to the author.

“Go and check the results from Kano. The presidential election and that of National Assembly happened on the same day and same time. The National Assembly result reflected that about 800,000 people voted, but that of the presidential reflected a vote of about 1.8 million.

“It 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, however, revealed that Jonathan, not willing to allow the outcome to lead to bloodshed in any part of the country, opted to accept the result in good faith so as to save the country from trouble.

Quoting Jonathan, the author said:

“In 2011 when Buhari did not campaign anywhere and could not have won the election, there was a spontaneous violent reaction that led to the death of several innocent people, including youth corps members.”

“I asked myself: what would happen in a situation in which there was already internal and international conspiracy in his favour? I could not bear the thought of anybody dying, so I told myself I had only one option and that was to concede.”

Despite the decision to concede, the book points out that there were various plots by his loyalists, including one to kidnap Jega, the INEC boss and returning officer for the election at the collation centre at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Part of the script to derail the announcement of Buhari as winner, the book claims, was the attempt by former Niger Minister, Elder Godsday Orubebe, to disrupt proceedings at the INEC collation centre, a spectacle that unfolded on live television.

The book said: “Although he would later apologise for his misadventure, Orubebe’s histrionics were part of a grand plan to disrupt the election, a plot that failed essentially because other parties involved refused to play to the script.”

The book further disclosed:

“While Jega did not have the exact details of what would happen, he had nonetheless been alerted to the fact that there would be a disruption in the process, including a kidnap threat.

“On arrival at the collation centre that morning, we discovered that the gate between the International Conference Centre and NICON Luxury Hotel, which was always locked, had curiously been opened,” the book quoted a security officer detailed to work with Jega.

A decision was immediately taken for the INEC Chairman not to leave the collation hall under any circumstances.

“While the outcome must have deflated the hawks around Jonathan who were still looking for a way out of the looming defeat, it worked in favour of those who wanted him to concede before the final tally of the results.

“With Orubebe’s antics dealt with by Jega, INEC continued to process the results from the remaining states.

“Chidoka pleaded, (with Jonathan) “Why don’t you take the wind off Jega’s sail? By calling Buhari, you would have rendered whatever INEC is doing redundant.”

“This school of thought won the day. At one point, Dudafa stood up and said loudly to Jonathan, “Daddy, anybody can say whatever they like, but we are leaving this house on May 29. You have done your best for Nigeria, and the people will appreciate your sacrifices.”

“Shortly thereafter, Jonathan got up from his seat and went into his study where he picked up the phone and asked ‘Control’ to get Buhari on the line. He spoke briefly with Buhari, in a rather nervous tone, and then came out to announce to those in the room that he had conceded and congratulated the APC candidate on his victory.

“A relieved Chidoka asked, “Can I tell the world?”

“Go ahead,” Jonathan directed, and Chidoka sent out a tweet from his mobile phone at exactly 5.23AM, Nigerian time.

“And with that call, Jonathan pulled Nigeria back from the precipice, saving the country from what would have been a serious crisis, the ending of which nobody could have foretold.

“It was gathered that after the president had conceded some of his loyalists still wanted a desperate fight to stall Buhari from being sworn in as President.

The book quoted then Chairman of PDP, Jonathan’s party, Adamu Muazu, as saying that some persons close to him wanted him to use the hierarchy of the party to contest the outcome of the election and cause avoidable problems for Nigeria and he resisted them.

“After President Jonathan had accepted defeat, congratulated Buhari and the whole world was acclaiming him, some party leaders and-governors now wanted me to release a press statement that would ridicule me before civilized people and cause serious problems for our country,” the PDP National Chairman at the time, Mu’azu, said in the book.


Culled from Vanguard Newspaper

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/04/2015-how-us-worked-with-12-anti-jonathan-govs

Conceding was heroic no matter how anyone tries to twist It.
You might dislike the person of Jonathan or his policies and governing system, but every rational individual knows it takes courage to concede.

Not to cause trouble, but do y'all really think Mr. Buhari can do same, accept defeat and concede. I might be wrong but I strongly doubt it.

Jonathan averted alot by conceding and if only for that he deserves to be praised and remembered in our history books.

Nothing special here.

He lost and he conceded. What exactly is heroic about that?it is like saying you slept with a Scarlett lady unprotected,and then got infected with Stds,and then you start praising yourself that you went to the hospital to treat yourself.

There is nothing worth praising here. It is just the right thing to do.

It is just that those seeing Jonathan's concession as something big,are those born in the Choco-Milo generation and not aware of how democratic Institutions or societies work.

Never shall we ever allow a thief,married to a female thief,that will bring in their thieving kinsmen and militants,and surrounded by thousands of thieves at once (PDP) near Aso Rock again.

Never again.

Namadi Sambo shaaaa. Dat guy just disappeared from the spotlight like weed smoke.

Can we all see that he didn't voluntarily relinquish power


Tipatipa leyan fi feran sango

rose54321:
Conceding was heroic no matter how anyone tries to twist It.
You might dislike the person of Jonathan or his policies and governing system, but every rational individual knows it takes courage to concede.

Not to cause trouble, but do y'all really think Mr. Buhari can do same, accept defeat and concede. I might be wrong but I strongly doubt it.

Jonathan averted alot by conceding and if only for that he deserves to be praised and remembered in our history books.

Him no get option

He didn't have that liver

Finally he's clueless

So na Jonathan turn this week.... its getting much let's move on jhoo

Bunch of rogues....

What amazed me most was the plan to abducted Jega.. How on earth we planned criminality in the house of a country ,the most exalted seat of Power ..

LOL.... (*panting*) getting me water to drink for reading this epistle.

I have nothing comment but OP posted an epistle. People commenting are also commenting epistles.

Nigerian politics is deception.

Jonathan pls get a job, cuz its obvious idleness is taking its ton on u.

Jabioro:
What amazed me most was the plan to abducted Jega.. How on earth we planned criminality in the house of a country ,the most exalted seat of Power ..

Reread the write up,the plan wasn't from the House but from Loyalist....read and understand before replying

HungerBAD:
Nothing special here.

He lost and he conceded. What exactly is heroic about that?it is like saying you slept with a Scarlett lady unprotected,and then got infected with Stds,and then you start praising yourself that you went to the hospital to treat yourself.

There is nothing worth praising here. It is just the right thing to do.

It is just that those seeing Jonathan's concession as something big,are those born in the Choco-Milo generation and not aware of how democratic Institutions or societies work.

Never shall we ever allow a thief,married to a female thief,that will bring in their thieving kinsmen and militants,and surrounded by thousands of thieves at once (PDP) near Aso Rock again.

Never again.

You were not even born in the chocoMilo era, else you would have learnt how to control your thoughts, right now your BMC pay control your thought process.

HungerBAD:
Nothing special here.

He lost and he conceded. What exactly is heroic about that?it is like saying you slept with a Scarlett lady unprotected,and then got infected with Stds,and then you start praising yourself that you went to the hospital to treat yourself.

There is nothing worth praising here. It is just the right thing to do.

It is just that those seeing Jonathan's concession as something big,are those born in the Choco-Milo generation and not aware of how democratic Institutions or societies work.

Never shall we ever allow a thief,married to a female thief,that will bring in their thieving kinsmen and militants,and surrounded by thousands of thieves at once (PDP) near Aso Rock again.

Never again.

How do democratic institutions and societies work? By enlisting underaged voters in the millions, threatening violence if things don't go your way? Well its a lesson well learnt. Jonathan conceded and is now being harassed, the alternative always was to resist the conspiracy and damn the consequences. The consequences might have been better than this charade of a government, lessons have been learnt I say. Let's move on and wait for another day.

"Jonathan, not willing to allow the outcome to lead to bloodshed in any part of the country, opted to accept the result in good faith so as to save the country from trouble"


We were not unaware of the war and bloodlet plan of the opposition party (APC).

- They promised to form a parallel government
- They promised maximum lawlessness
- They threatened to make sure blood of Nigerians flow as they did in previous elections

new2012:


Reread the write up,the plan wasn't from the House but from Loyalist....read and understand before replying

Whether within the comfort of Aso Rock or outside the house, in as much as the presidency is aware of such planned, is not good enough..

Jabioro:
Whether within the comfort of Aso Rock or outside the house, in as much as the presidency is aware of such planned, is not good enough..

You have no idea what a president is privy to

newbornmacho:

How do democratic institutions and societies work? By enlisting underaged voters in the millions, threatening violence if things don't go your way? Well its a lesson well learnt. Jonathan conceded and is now being harassed, the alternative always was to resist the conspiracy and damn the consequences. The consequences might have been better than this charade of a government, lessons have been learnt I say. Let's move on and wait for another day.

Gospel truth Jonathan was clueless
Too weak to act as a determine president
Allow monsters to infiltrate his administration

Whatever the country is passing through now is cause as a result of Jonathan's incapability to stand decisions.


Let him face the music!

new2012:

You have no idea what a president is privy to

..and you did

Jonathan's loyalist where the architect of his problems, people like mama peace, Akpabio, FFK, Fayose, Clark, Wike, and Dasuki. if their plan to kidnapp Jega or disrupt the announcement of the result, Nigeria would have been in flames. Jega was so clam and acted maturely alot of respect must be given to him and the former IG of police

Story story.

Demagoguery at its finest...can we move on, the president of Nigeria is General Muhammadu Buhari, and these two years of clueless brainwashing and complaints about Jonathan has passed the acceptable point.

You say PDP ruled 16years but everyone is hanging on to Jonathan's 4 years.

By May 29, 2017 Buhari and by extension APC will have been in power for 2 years with nothing but blames and Jonathan on their lips abeg nah Jona we go chop?

I'm not a fan of Jonathan but please let's leave him alone and insist on good governance by APC

HungerBAD:
Nothing special here.

He lost and he conceded. What exactly is heroic about that?it is like saying you slept with a Scarlett lady unprotected,and then got infected with Stds,and then you start praising yourself that you went to the hospital to treat yourself.

There is nothing worth praising here. It is just the right thing to do.

It is just that those seeing Jonathan's concession as something big,are those born in the Choco-Milo generation and not aware of how democratic Institutions or societies work.

Never shall we ever allow a thief,married to a female thief,that will bring in their thieving kinsmen and militants,and surrounded by thousands of thieves at once (PDP) near Aso Rock again.

Never again.

Even though I never supported Jonathan both in 2011 and 2015, conceding defeat was heroic. It showed that he was not power hungry. If it was OBJ, IBB or some other power drunk person that was in the same scenario, they would prefer the country burn down than concede power.
If Jonathan had not conceded, we were possibly facing a civil war of Syrian proportions. Even today a section of the country is still bitter Jonathan lost and conceded to Buhari.
That selfless act of Jonathan is what made me forgive him for all the looting and rubbish under his administration.

Jabioro:
..and you did

It's too early for overheating of the brain, calm down!

A president get brief on even terrible things the government does, you know what covert means? Sometimes, some evil things are for greater good- I don't expect you to understand this though. The shit planned were not by him, nor supported by him..

Remember it was said that he was training snipers?

Just reading

diablos:
Jonathan pls get a job, cuz its obvious idleness is taking its ton on u.

Shee?

They have earned the title of "the three wise men"

Tazdroid:
They have earned the title of "the three wise men"

Gbam

GEJ is a real man, he did what no other Nigerian leader had ever done.

He let go to save Nigeria and thereby frustrating the plans of the wicked, those who were working and planning to mix the blood of baboon and monkey for their children to drink. He frustrated the intentions of his traitors and those who wanted the North back in power by all means. He put to shame the international conspirators who predicted Nigeria will cease to exist after the 2015 elections.

Now just look at what our Nigeria has become. Rule they cannot, they have turned our country into a huge joke of a Nation. Even those foreign countries who supported them have distanced themselves from these crooks masquerading as patriots. A Nation being led by walking dead people. Even ordinary Cameroon, Ghana, Niger, Chad, Congo, SA etc can now talk down on a whole giant of Africa,why? Simply because we put forward the worst of the worst as our representatives before the world. The number one citizen of a country is the image maker of that country.
I wonder how on earth some people feel the way this nation is been presented. Ordinary school certificate is a subject of debate for our number one image maker, God forbid such in this 21st century. I will rather exile myself than to be linked with retrogression and mediocrity. Just take a look at them.

In 2011, bubu lost an election he refused to accept the outcome and people died, IBB annulled an election that was adjuged to be free and fair.

It is not today we know that in this our country some Northerners believe power is their exclusive preserve and that is wrong because be some Southerners are yet to understand these things. The North is ready to present a common tyro to lead this nation as long as that person is from the North.

So even if the south like let them bring a multiple international award holder with the highest academic qualifications they will still prefer their own Islamic product. That nonsense must stop no matter what it takes. In a country of the sighted the blind cannot and should not be the leader. If their best are the types they are currently churning out then we say NO, we don't want such.
The world has moved past these type of products as president.