Former President Goodluck Jonathan says one of late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s aides intentionally blocked the submission of a crucial letter meant to empower him as acting president, leading Nigeria into a constitutional crisis in 2010. 

Speaking in an interview with the Rainbow Book Club, Jonathan revealed that President Yar’Adua, before travelling abroad for medical treatment, had written a formal letter to the National Assembly, intending to transfer executive powers to his vice president. 

However, Jonathan stated that the aide responsible for delivering the letter refused to submit it. The former president showered encomium on the National Assembly for invoking the “doctrine of necessity,” which allowed him to assume full presidential roles without a formal letter from the sitting president. 

He added that the decision created a vacuum in the presidency, thereby leaving Nigeria without a constitutionally recognised acting president or commander-in-chief for several months, even as ailing Yar’Adua remained incapacitated“There’s always a balancing between North and South, Muslims and Christians. 

Yar’Adua was a Northern Muslim, serving as president. He took over from a Southern Christian, Obasanjo, who ruled for eight years. “The Northern Muslims wanted Yar’Adua to at least do eight years before power would return to the South, likely to another Christian. But his health issues came up, and it was a problem. That’s why even allowing me to act as president became an issue.” 

He added: “One year that Yar’Adua was going for a medical checkup. A letter was written. Of course, the constitution says that for the vice president to act, the president would send a letter to the Senate and the House of Representatives informing them.
“That letter was written, but the person to whom the letter was handed over, I will not mention the name to you now, was one of the aides of Yar’Adua, and refused to submit the letter to the National Assembly. And Yar’Adua became so ill that he had no control of issues,” he said.
 
Jonathan continued: “So we had a country where the president was not available, and there was no acting president. Yes, as a vice president, you can take over some responsibilities of the president. You know the president of Nigeria has two main responsibilities.

“But there was no commander-in-chief. What is the second responsibility of the president of Nigeria, besides being the executive head of the country? And there’s nothing like acting commander-in-chief. Either you’re a commander-in-chief or not.”
Jonathan also disclosed that he turned down requests from his close friends to vacate the State House in Aso Rock because he was ready to die a dignified death after it was rumoured that a coup d’etat was mooted by the army.

”The country was tense; every day, I heard about a coup. I remember one day, one of my friends told me that time when I was not even acting, He said I should leave the state house and come and stay at his guest house. I told him I would remain in the state house if anybody wants to kill me, I should die in the state house so that Nigerians will know that I have not committed any offence,” he said” If I decided to go ahead and stay at the guest house, and I was eventually killed, they will say Indian girls brought apples to kill me,” he concluded.