Contrary to reports that some ‘peacemakers’ persuaded President Goodluck Jonathan to concede defeat in the March 28 election, details have emerged that the president had made up his mind on the course of action in the early hours of Sunday, March 29.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that long before some well wishers started streaming into the Presidential Villa on Sunday afternoon, the president had received reports from independent and security sources detailing the performance of key stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in their respective states.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
It was also gathered that the president had summed up everything to a huge level of betrayal and told close aides that since politics was a teamwork, he just had to take responsibility for the performance of his foot soldiers.
Reports reaching the president were said to have suggested that a number of key members of the party failed to handle logistics in their care clinically, thus endangering the chances of his party.
At a meeting on Monday, the president was said to have reeled out names of party chieftains and some members of the Federal Executive Council who were given responsibilities, but failed to deliver.
He was said to have flatly shunned suggestions that he should reject the outcome of the polls based on perceived irregularities in some states.
Sources in the administration confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune that Jonathan pointedly told leaders of the party, including some governors who flew into Abuja, that he would not lift a finger against the result, adding that if the party’s chieftains had done their bits, they would not be talking of a Buhari victory.
The president was quoted as telling the party leaders: “I have made up my mind not to lift any finger against the results being collated. I have told Nigerians that if I lose this election, I will go home. I am ready to leave and nobody should link me with any untoward conduct.”
Sources also said that the president was amused by some strange calls he started receiving from Sunday morning from African leaders, as well as a few from the Western world, many of them asking after his welfare and the welfare of the Nigerian nation.
“It was suspicious that some of the calls started coming in apparently to pre-empt the possible outcome of the election, but the president has taken everything in its strides and decided of his own volition to allow peace reign in this country,” another source said, adding that Jonathan was ready to actualise his often repeated quote that his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.
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Sources said that while some PDP leaders and FEC members were entering the Villa with mournful look, they met a relaxed and cheerful Jonathan, something that was said to have disarmed the party leaders.
“The president was aware of the local and international dimensions to the election. He was confident that if everyone in the PDP had delivered, he would have won convincingly, but having seen the dropping of guards at key points, he decided it was time to move on,” a source stated on Monday.
(Nigerian Tribune)
