Jonathan Reveals Yar’Adua Approved Transfer Of Power But Letter Was Hidden

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has disclosed that the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua signed a letter authorising him to act in his absence during his prolonged illness, but the document was never submitted to the National Assembly.

Jonathan made the revelation in an interview with the Rainbow Book Club while discussing his memoir, My Transition Hours. He described the period as one of the darkest chapters in Nigeria’s democracy, marked by political tension, ethnic and religious divisions, and a looming constitutional crisis.

“At that time, there was already an understanding that power would stay in the North for eight years before rotating again,” Jonathan said. “But the health issue came up, and that became the problem. Even allowing me to act became an issue.”

According to him, the late president had prepared a formal handover letter, but the individual tasked with delivering it refused to submit it to the National Assembly.

“That letter was written. But the person who the letter was handed over to, I will not mention the name, refused to submit it,” Jonathan revealed. “Yar’Adua became so ill that he had no control of issues.”

With the letter suppressed and no official transmission of power, Jonathan said he was caught in a constitutional dilemma — performing executive functions but unable to act as commander-in-chief.

“You can’t be an acting commander-in-chief. You either are, or you’re not,” he explained, highlighting the limits of his authority at the time.

As the leadership vacuum widened and tensions escalated nationwide, the National Assembly resorted to invoking the doctrine of necessity, which officially made Jonathan acting president and helped stabilize the country.

“The country was tense. I was hearing rumours of coups every day,” he recalled. “The north-south divide, Christian-Muslim tensions—everything was heating up.”

Jonathan also shared that during this volatile period, close aides urged him to vacate the presidential villa for safety, a suggestion he flatly rejected.

“They said I shouldn’t sleep in the villa. But I told them, if anyone wants to kill me, let them do it in the state house so Nigerians will know I didn’t run,” he said. “If I die in someone’s guest house, they’ll say Indian girls brought apple to kill me,” he added, alluding to a past political scandal.

Jonathan would later assume full presidential powers after Yar’Adua’s death in May 2010.