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Presidential aide blocked Yar’Adua’s letter to NASS to make me acting president —Jonathan
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has made startling revelations about the constitutional crisis that engulfed Nigeria during the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s prolonged illness, alleging that a top presidential aide deliberately withheld a crucial handover letter from the National Assembly.
In an interview with Rainbow Book Club, trending on Saturday, Jonathan disclosed that Yar’Adua had written a formal letter to empower him as acting president before travelling abroad for medical treatment in 2010, but the aide entrusted with the document refused to submit it to lawmakers.
The former president said the aide’s action plunged the country into a constitutional crisis, leaving Nigeria without an acting president or commander-in-chief for months.
He explained that while he could perform executive functions as vice president, including presiding over Federal Executive Council meetings and approving ministerial memos, he lacked the constitutional authority to act as commander-in-chief without the formal letter.
He noted that the crisis forced the National Assembly to invoke the “doctrine of necessity,” empowering him to act as president without an official letter, a move he compared to the swift transition protocols in the US.
Jonathan said: “There’s always a balancing between North and South, Muslims and Christians. And Yar’Adua was a Northern Muslim, serving as president. He took over from a Southern Christian, Obasanjo, who ruled for eight years.
“Definitely the Northern Muslims wanted Yar’Adua to at least do eight years before power would return to the South, likely to another Christian. But his health issues came up and it was a problem. That’s why even allowing me to act as president became an issue.
“One year that Yar’Adua was going for the medical checkup. Actually, a letter was written. Of course, the constitution says that for the vice president to act, the president would send a letter to the Senate and the House of Rep informing them.
“That letter was written, but the person who the letter was handed over to, I will not mention the name to you now, was one of the aides of Yar’Adua, refused to submit the letter to the National Assembly. And Yar’Adua became so ill that he had no control of issues.
“So we had a country where the president was not available, and there was no acting president. Yes, as a vice president, you can take over the responsibilities of, some responsibilities of the president. You know the president of Nigeria has two main responsibilities.
“First, you are the chief executive of the country, so like a prime minister of a country. That, the vice president can assume, you don’t need any transfer. And I was doing that because we were having an executive council meeting, we were approving memos from ministers, so the government was going on.
“But there was no commander-in-chief. What is the second responsibility of the president of Nigeria, besides being the executive head of the country? And there’s nothing like acting commander-in-chief. Either you’re a commander-in-chief or not.
“But when you become an acting president, you are at the same time a commander-in-chief. So that was lacking, and no country allows that gap. A country like America, they don’t allow that gap at all.
“If an American president wants to, even if it’s a whitlow, that he requires an extension, that he will be off for five minutes, he will hand over to the vice president before that procedure. Immediately he regains consciousness, he takes over. But we stayed for some time.
“And that led to what they call the doctrine of necessity. When the National Assembly felt that the country was in a situation where it was not expected, they now have to initiate this doctrine of necessity. And they now made me to act as a president without a letter from Yar’Adua.”
Yar’Adua died in May 2010 after months of illness, and Jonathan subsequently completed his term before winning the 2011 presidential election.
A teacher at Federal Government College, Anka, Mustapha Yahaya Maru, has reportedly been k!lled by armed band!ts despite the payment of ransom for his release.
Sahara Reporters reports that Maru was abducted early May while travelling to Anka in Zamfara State alongside several other passengers after their vehicle was intercepted by the attackers.
Following the abduction, the k!dnappers contacted his family and demanded a ransom far beyond their financial capacity.The report states that after intense efforts and negotiations, the family eventually raised and paid the agreed amount in hopes of securing his freedom.
Tragically, the bandits k!lled Maru on Tuesday instead of releasing him.
His de@th has thrown his family and the Maru community into mourning and has further heightened concerns over the worsening insecurity in the region.
The Presidency on Wednesday said social media influencer Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VDM, should face the law over the circulation of an alleged fake audio purportedly involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this in a post on X, accusing VDM of disseminating false content on social media.
“This VDM needs to face the weight of the law for being the conveyor and disseminator of a fake audio of President Tinubu. This is a clear case of an egregious abuse of the social media platform,” Onanuga wrote.
The presidential aide was reacting to a post by an X user, identified as Aneex, who questioned why some people believed the voice in the audio belonged to Tinubu.
The user described the audio as “cheap propaganda” and alleged that VDM was exploiting emotions to spread misinformation.
In the viral content, VeryDarkMan allegedly used the audio to call on Nigerians to reject President Tinubu’s re-election bid in the 2027 general elections.
The development comes just days after President Tinubu secured the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress at the party’s nationwide direct primary held on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
During the exercise, Tinubu reportedly polled 10,999,162 votes, defeating his sole challenger, APC chieftain Stanley Osifo, who secured 16,503 votes from over 12 million registered party members.
Meanwhile, opposition figures are already positioning ahead of 2027, with Peter Obi expected to fly the flag of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), while former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is also expected to lead the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ticket.
Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has felicitated Muslim faithful in the state and the nation as whole on the occasion of Eid-el-Kabir, urging unity, tolerance, sacrifice, and hope.
Mbah, in his Eid goodwill message on Tuesday, also called for charity, urging Nigerians to rise in solidarity with one another, especially the less privileged.
He said, “On the occasion of Eid-el-Kabir, I extend warm felicitations to our Muslim brothers and sisters in Enugu State and across Nigeria as they commemorate this sacred festival of faith, sacrifice, and devotion to Almighty Allah.
“Eid-el-Kabir reminds us that sacrifice lies at the very heart of true service to God and humanity. It calls to mind the profound blessings inherent in the virtues of patience, obedience, trust, and unwavering faith – values exemplified by Prophet Ibrahim and which remain timeless lessons for us all.
“At a time when our nation continues to navigate important political and economic transitions, the significance of this celebration becomes even more profound.
“Let us be reminded that we all belong to one shared humanity and our collective progress as a people depends on our ability to uphold unity, mutual respect, peace, and compassion above all divisions.
“This season, therefore, offers us another opportunity to recommit ourselves to the ideals of tolerance, sacrifice for the common good, and solidarity with one another, especially the vulnerable among us.
“As we celebrate, I urge all citizens to continue to pray for the peace, stability, and prosperity of our dear state and nation. Let us also continue to work together in harmony to build a society defined by justice, opportunity, and shared progress for all.”
He concluded by wishing the Muslim faithful a peaceful and joyous Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
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