Former President Goodluck Jonathan has revealed that the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had planned to formally hand over power to him before his health worsened, but a close aide of Yar’Adua failed to deliver the required letter to the National Assembly.
Jonathan made this disclosure during an interview on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. He said the letter, which would have officially made him Acting President while Yar’Adua was on a medical trip, was never submitted, plunging the country into a leadership crisis.
According to him, the Constitution clearly states that for the Vice President to assume the role of Acting President, a formal letter must be sent by the President to both chambers of the National Assembly. Jonathan said Yar’Adua fulfilled this requirement, but the process was hijacked.
“The letter was written, but the person it was handed over to — I won’t mention names — refused to send it to the National Assembly,” he said.
Jonathan added that this led to a situation where the country was being governed without a Commander-in-Chief, even though he continued handling executive functions as Vice President.
“At that time, Nigeria had no active President and no formal Acting President. I was attending Executive Council meetings and approving memos from ministers, but I couldn’t function as Commander-in-Chief without the proper transfer of power,” he explained.
He also hinted at the political and religious balance in the presidency, pointing out that Yar’Adua, a northern Muslim, succeeded Obasanjo, a southern Christian, and many expected the north to hold power for eight years before another transition.
Yar’Adua later passed away in May 2010, after which Jonathan was sworn in as President, completing the term and later winning his own four-year mandate in 2011.
