Nobody advised Jonathan to concede defeat – Aide

Special Adviser to the President on the Niger Delta, Kingsley Kuku

President Goodluck Jonathan did not receive advice from anyone before he conceded defeat in the March 28 presidential election, his Special Adviser on Niger Delta, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, said on Tuesday.

Kuku spoke at the inauguration of a 500-seater Lecture Theatre donated by the Alumni Association of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, and named in honour of Jonathan.

The President of the Alumni, Dr. Mathew Ayeni, said the President was a lover of peace, saying his election was a manifestation of this assertion.

Urging other African leaders to emulate him, Ayeni said, “Jonathan is undoubtedly a hero, not only in Nigeria’s history and by Nigerian standard but by international standard. This is the reason he is being credited as a world leader by international communities.”

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According to Kuku, who is an alumnus of EKSU, Jonathan’s phone call to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, saved Nigeria from a civil war.

He said, “That phone call saved Nigeria. Even the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, knew Nigeria was about to be made or marred.

“As results were still being collated, Mr. President was still busy with the problems of Nigeria, signing papers and working for the country.

“He saved this country; so many people predicted that we would have been at war by now. Even the so called advanced democracies had predicted 2015 as a year of doom for Nigeria.

“President Jonathan has scored another first. He did this without any pains, without any regret. We asked him why he did that without waiting for the final results to be announced. He said to us, ‘when things would happen, it must definitely happen. At such time, you will need no advice from people. Your adviser must be God Almighty. Nobody was with him when he made that phone call.”

Kuku described Jonathan as the luckiest president, saying he rose from deputy governor to become President within 10 years.

He recalled how former President Olusegun Obasanjo persuaded Jonathan to become Vice President when he was thinking of seeking re-election as Bayelsa governor.

“If that same man by votes was told by Nigerians that we needed a change; now change has come. We only need to pray for Muhammadu Buhari to bring that change for the benefits of all Nigerians. This prayer we must do to support all our leaders.

“This man has never fought for anything but God has made them happened. I’m happy to be part of history of President Goodluck Jonathan,” he added.

The wife of Ekiti State Governor, Mrs. Feyisetan Fayose, commended the association for the remarkable feat.

She urged the Ekiti State University authorities to strive for higher quality education to place Nigeria in the comity of nations with advanced education.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Patrick Aina, thanked the association for giving back to the university. Specifically, she thanked Kuku for recently donating an ultra-modern Student Centre and a bus to the Students’ Union.