• 28 Jun, 2025
• Faith Kegh
• No comment

Jonathan: Yar’Adua’s Aide Withheld Letter Empowering Me as Acting President.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has revealed that a key aide to the late President

Umaru Musa Yar’Adua withheld a crucial letter meant to authorize him as acting president, plunging Nigeria into a constitutional crisis in 2010.

In a recently resurfaced interview with the Rainbow Book Club, Jonathan disclosed that before Yar’Adua left Nigeria for medical treatment abroad, he had written a formal letter to the National Assembly to empower his vice president—Jonathan—to act in his absence. However, the aide assigned to deliver the letter failed to do so.

This omission left the country without an officially recognized acting president or commander-in-chief for months, despite Jonathan performing some executive duties in his capacity as vice president.

“I chaired Federal Executive Council meetings and approved ministerial memos,” Jonathan explained, “but constitutionally, I couldn’t serve as commander-in-chief without that letter.”

He highlighted the political tension surrounding the transfer of power, noting that Yar’Adua, a northern Muslim, had succeeded Olusegun Obasanjo, a southern Christian. Many in the north had hoped Yar’Adua would complete two terms before returning power to the south. His failing health made even temporary transfers of power controversial.

“Even though the letter was written, the person who received it refused to deliver it,” Jonathan said. “And then Yar’Adua became too ill to intervene.”

This led the National Assembly to invoke the doctrine of necessity, a legal principle that allowed Jonathan to be formally recognized as acting president without the letter.

Jonathan drew comparisons with U.S. presidential procedures, where power is temporarily transferred—even for minor procedures—ensuring no gap in authority. “In America, even if the president is briefly unconscious, power is handed over. We had no such transition for weeks.”

Yar’Adua died in May 2010, and Jonathan completed the term before winning the presidency in the 2011 election.

Faith Kegh

Content & Editorial Manager – Leads the creation, review, and publication of high-quality news and media content. She ensures that all editorial work reflects the organization’s standards of accuracy, professionalism, and relevance, while also engaging and informing the audience.

As the key driver of TokinPoint Media LTD’s editorial voice, the manager oversees content planning, assigns tasks to writers or editors, enforces deadlines, and ensures consistency across all platforms. She also plays a strategic role in aligning content with audience interests and search engine optimization (SEO) best practices.

tokinpoint.com