Former President Goodluck Jonathan has made it clear that he never personally promised to do one term of four year in office.
He said: “Of course, at that period, the issue of one term was brought several times at different meetings and some people took it upon themselves to pledge on my behalf but I never said I was going to spend only one term… the question was always usually randomly asked and I never made any such commitment to anybody.”
Dr. Jonathan who spoke against the backdrop of a book: “Against the Run of play: How an incumbent President was defeated in Nigeria,” written by the Chairman of ThisDay Editorial Board, Segun Adeniyi, however admitted that there was indeed a gentleman’s agreement that he was going to do just one term and leave office.
He said that he later changed his mind so long he did not contravene the constitution, explaining: “you can make a political promise and change your mind, so long as it is within the law.”
The former President, who was obviously not comfortable with the content of Segun Adeniyi’s book, said: “I had made a proposition for a single term of seven years. That was the context in which I spoke in Addis Ababa that if the idea was accepted, I would not run again. It was not in the context of a second term of four years.
Adeniyi controversial book, which Dr. Jonathan said is filled with so many distortions, was formally presented to the public in Lagos yesterday, Friday 28.
The author, in the book, narrated how Jonathan lost the 2015 election and blamed ex-United States of America’s President, Barack Obama for his loss to President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a series of tweets, the former President said that the accounts of what transpired in the election by some respondents in the book were false, saying that he will soon come out with his own version on what actually transpired during the election.
“I have just read Segun Adeniyi’s new book, ‘Against the Run of Play’ which has so far enjoyed tremendous reviews in the media. My take on it is that the book as presented contains many distorted claims on the 2015 Presidential election by many of the respondents
“There will obviously be more books like that on this subject by concerned Nigerians.
“However, I believe that at the right time, the main characters in the elections, including myself will come out with a true account of what transpired either in major interviews or books.” [myad]
