‘I Conceded Defeat To Set A Standard For Our Democracy,’ Says Jonathan
Immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan, has explained why he conceded defeat to President Muhammadu Buhari at the 2015 Presidential election.
Speaking at the 6th edition of African Ambassadors Interactive Forum, AAIF, and dinner, organised by African Third Sector Resource, ATSR, in Abuja, Jonathan said, “I conceded defeat without a fight because I wanted to set a standard for our democracy, going forward.”
According to him, conceding defeat, even before the results was announced is to set a new standard for the nation’s democracy and prove a point that election related litigation should no longer define Nigeria’s democracy.
The former president, who was represented at the occasion by the former Minister of National Planning, Abubakar Suleiman, noted that people must not always go to court and obtain judgments before elections in Nigeria are declared complete.
His words: ““We don’t get to hear about such court cases in mature democracies. I wanted us to get to that point in our democratic experience. I thought that it won’t be out of place if we got to that stage where those who lost elections will be able to congratulate those who won.”