How Jonathan conceded defeat, by Adoke

Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Mohammed Bello
Adoke (SAN) yesterday said he never at any time discouraged
ex-President Goodluck Jonathan from conceding victory to President
Muhammdu Buhari in 2015.

He said he, the ex-Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, the ex-Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka and
the former Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs to the
ex-President, Waripamo Owei-Dudafa, actually prevailed on Jonathan
to accept defeat.

He said having been at the vanguard of protecting Nigeria’s
democracy and the Rule of Law as an Attorney-General of the
Federation, he could not have stooped low to ask Jonathan to reject
the outcome of the 2015 presidential election.

But Adoke noted that some hawks in the administration actually
wanted Jonathan to refuse to accept the results but he, the two
ex-Ministers and Dudafa encouraged Jonathan to congratulate
Buhari.

He said: ”As a patriot, I could not have advised him not to
concede defeat. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Osita Chidoka, I and
Waripamowei-Dudafa are the real heroes of that historic concession
as we ensured that despite pressures from the hawks within the
administration, the President conceded defeat by calling President
Buhari as at the time he did.

“We are the real heroes of the concession by Jonathan. We were
the ones who made the former President to make the concession call
to President Muhammadu Buhari.

“We are not saboteurs, we are patriots. We actually asked
Jonathan to concede. I have impeccable democratic credentials; no
one can spoil my records.”

“I expect that Jonathan will clear the air on the issue as he
knows the truth. However, my forthcoming book will address the
issue most comprehensively.”

Another source gave an insight into the last-minute intrigues
that preceded Jonathan’s acceptance of defeat.

The source said: “It is unfair characterization to claim that
Adoke, Okonjo-Iweala, Chidoka and Dudafa did not want Jonathan to
accept the outcome of the 2015 presidential poll.

“When the results were trickling in and it was obvious that
Jonathan was losing, Chidoka was actually mandated to go and draft
the acceptance speech for Jonathan. How can someone who was part of
the decision to make concession be assumed to be opposed to it.

“After drafting the concession speech, Chidoka put a call to
Okonjo-Iweala, Adoke for the vetting of the text. Of course, Dudafa
has always been insisting on conceding defeat.

“It was Dudafa, who actually put a call to President Buhari and
handed over the phone to Jonathan to speak with the President who
was the winner.

“I am aware that Adoke insisted that Jonathan must congratulate
Buhari before the announcement of the results. He kept on saying:
‘Mr. President, put yourself on the positive side of history, be a
statesman and earn international respect for life’.

“The presence of Adoke, Okonjo-Iweala, Chidoka and Dudafa
assisted the President in making his decision to concede
defeat.”

A former government official attributed Jonathan’s concession to
“personal factor”.

He said: “President Jonathan had already given his words to all
the security and service chiefs before the election that he would
abide by the decision of Nigerians. At the meeting, he also told
them to perform their duties professionally during the polls.

“While we anticipated that he would congratulate his opponent if
the result was announced in favour of the opposition candidate, he
gratuitously, without the prompting of anyone, conceded defeat – to
the surprise of all.

“By that singular gesture, he had saved the security agencies
and the nation of unnecessary tension and stress in maintaining law
and order and curtailing excesses of likely protesters.”

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