- Goodluck Jonathan alleges that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conspired to ensure his defeat in 2015
- Jonathan says while INEC was able to distribute electional materials 100 percent in the north, for some inexplicable reasons, it could not achieve same feat in the south
- The former president reveals three reasons he decided to accept defeat and call President Buhari before the collation of the election ended
Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan has alleged in a new book he released on Tuesday, November 20, that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conspired against his planned electoral victory in 2015.
Premium Times reports Jonathan as alleging that INEC was bias in the distribution of voting credentials to the electorate and that this was the beginning of his defeat at the March 28, 2015 general elections.
In the book, Jonathan wrote: “For some inexplicable reason, the INEC had been able to achieve near 100 percent distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in the north, including the north east, which was under siege with Boko Haram insurgency but failed to record a similar level of distribution in the south which was relatively more peaceful.”
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The former president said he monitored reports of irregularities, but that he remained reluctant to ride on such excuses to reject the results.
“Social media was filled with all manner of stories, pictures and videos. I had settled in my mind that I was not going to be the sitting president pointing out these infractions and accusing the opposition and the very INEC I helped to strengthen.
“The world saw my ordeal at the polling unit in my community in Bayelsa State, where the card reader refused my PVC even after we tried repeatedly during accreditation.
“And it was the same with my wife and my mother. It was a moment that exposed the shortcomings of INEC,” Jonathan said adding that he conceded defeat for three reasons, one being his personal belief while the other was to avoid a past predictions of the United States intelligence that Nigeria would break apart. The third, according to him, was a statement credited to President Muhammadu Buhari that dogs and baboons would be “soaked in blood” if 2015 elections did not go the way he desired.
“I knew what was coming the day before I called General Muhammadu Buhari. I had reports on the polls around the country. It was clear the results were not going to favour me.
“There were series of problems with card readers, resulting from widespread technical hitches leading to the non-uniform application throughout the country.
“However, I was heading towards peace. Stopping the election on voting day would have been like detonating an atomic bomb,” he said.
Furthermore, Jonathan said shortly after he finished voting on March 28, he left Bayelsa for Abuja to monitor the rest of the exercise adding that he was sure violence would have broken out in some areas if he did not place that call to Buhari.
“The country was tensed. I had to do something. I could no longer wait for the collation of final results. The pressure on the country was palpable.
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“In Lagos, people were ready to burst loose on the streets and in the north, the stage was set for envisaged violence. One of my party’s agents at the INEC national collation centre in Abuja, Elder Godsday Orubebe, eventually got into a heated argument with the INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega.
“That further raised the tension in the country. Everyone was expecting the worse. I knew it was time to douse the tension,” he said.
Legit.ng reported how the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshimohole, made a surprise appearance at the venue of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s book presentation.
He arrived at the same time with a former Akwa Ibom state governor, Godswill Akpabio.
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Source: Legit.ng
