Former President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has revealed how he had to contend with fear and rumours of coup while serving as Nigeria’s Vice President.
Jonathan, who served under late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, said at a point the situation became tense that he was advised to leave Aso Rock Presidential Villa.
He spoke in an interview with the Rainbow Book Club about his memoir My Transition Hours, recounting what transpired between him and some northerners when his former boss was battling ill health.
He alleged that there were conspiracies aimed at booting him out of the villa in a bid to deny the South the opportunity to succeed Yar'Adua.
According to the former Nigerian leader, the country was at that time tense following the "north-south divide, Christian-Muslim divide", stressing that "every day I was hearing about the coup".
He revealed that sometime when Yar'Adua was out of the country following his deteriorating health condition, he was advised by some friends to vacate the presidential villa for his safety.
Jonathan said he turned down the advice and decided to stay back in the presidential villa not minding what may happen to him.
“I remember one day, I was still vice president, they had not even moved the doctrine of necessity and some of my friends came and said, ‘No, you don’t have to sleep here. You have to come and sleep in my guest house.
“I said, ‘No.’ I will stay in the state house. If anybody wants to kill me, it’s better you kill me in the state house so Nigerians will know that they assassinated me in the state house. They know I have not committed any offence", he said.
In the same interview the former president also revealed that an erstwhile aide to Yar’Adua blocked a letter meant to be transmitted to the National Assembly for him to become Acting President.
According to him, although the late president did the needful by writing the letter, it was never submitted to the parliament as the unnamed aide sat on it.
NATIONAL POST recalls that it took a doctrine of necessity invoked by the Senate for Jonathan to be made Acting President.