How Obama influenced Nigeria’s 2015 election, Jonathan reveals in new book

Seyi Gesinde |20th Nov 2018 | 1,842
How Obama influenced Nigeria’s 2015 election, Jonathan reveals in new book

Ex-presidents Jonathan and Obama

Nigeria’s former President Good luck Jonathan has accused the United States former President Barack Obama for interfering with the country’s 2015 presidential election.

Jonathan at the launch of his book, “The Transition Hours,” in Abuja, on Tuesday, in on of the chapters, recalled how Obama sent his then Secretary of State, John Kerry to Nigeria to query the change in the election date, after which Jonathan said he made a video broadcast to Nigerians in ways designed to influence the outcome of the election against him.

The US former top diplomat, Kerry, arrived in Nigeria on Sunday January 25, 2015, where in a meeting with Jonathan, was quoted in the book as saying, “it’s imperative that these elections happen on time as scheduled.”

The election which was initially fixed for February 14, had been moved to March 28 in a controversial circumstance, but the Jonathan government justifying the same change in the date, said it was because of the security situation caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east.

“I can recall that President Barack Obama sent his Secretary of State to Nigeria, a sovereign nation, to protest the rescheduling of the election,” Jonathan wrote.

“He wondered “how can the US Secretary of State know what is more important for Nigeria than Nigeria’s own government?”

Sourced from a Tribune report



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