Jonathan denies saying Okonjo-Iweala, Adoke, others urged him not to concede to Buhari

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has refuted reports quoting him as saying that former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala advised him against conceding to President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

The report had also mentioned former Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister Mohammed Bello Adoke, ex Aviation Minister Osita Chidoka as well as Jonathan’s then Senior Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, Warpamowei Dudafa among those that gave him the advice.

Jonathan was quoted to have said that during the launch of his book “My Transition Hours” in Abuja last Tuesday.

But in his response through a statement by Ikechukwu Eze, his media adviser, Jonathan described the report as twisted logic.

According to him, the report was a “mischief” and “amounts to stretching interpretative reporting beyond acceptable limits because the writer willfully ignored the true account of what happened at that critical moment as clearly stated in the book”.

“Our attention has been drawn to a circulating story titled ‘Jonathan: I was pressed to reject 2015 election result’ which erroneously claimed that some identified former aides and ministers of ex-President Jonathan advised him ‘not to accept defeat.’

“This is obviously a gross misrepresentation of what was clearly stated in the book.

“President Jonathan had maintained that he never consulted anybody over the decision to call and congratulate his opponent while the results of the 2015 Presidential election was still being tallied. Whereas the decision to concede defeat was one he took without any compelling, the former President is however grateful to those who were with him at that moment and many other Nigerians that shared in his conviction to put across the historic phone call.

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“For the avoidance of doubt the former President in his narrative of his engagement with the mentioned key appointees at that critical time in the nation’s political history stated clearly that they were considering ‘sundry alternatives, but I was quiet in the midst of their discussion’.”

“However, this was how The Nation chose to report the narrative: ‘Okonjo-Iweala, Adoke, Chidoka, Dudafa advised me not to accept defeat’.

“It therefore beggars belief that the phrase ‘sundry alternatives’ could be interpreted to mean that the former President was advised by the identified personalities ‘not to accept defeat.’

“We always say that the society will be better served if journalists keep their interpretative reporting within the limits of credible and constructive imagination.”

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