Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) has refuted the claim of Former President, Goodluck Jonathan in his book ”My Transition Hours” that he (Adoke) was amongst those that advised him not to concede defeat to President Muhammdu Buhari in the 2015 Presidential election.
Adoke, in an interview with The Nation Newspaper on Wednesday said having been at the vanguard of protecting Nigeria’s democracy and the Rule of Law as an Attorney-General of the Federation, he could not have stooped low to ask Jonathan to reject the outcome of the 2015 presidential election.
Although he admitted that some ‘hawks’ in Jonathan’s administration wanted the former President to refuse the outcome of the election, he (Adoke), former minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the ex-Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka and the former Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs to the ex-President, Waripamo Owei-Dudafa, actually prevailed on Jonathan to accept defeat.
”As a patriot, I could not have advised him not to concede defeat. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Osita Chidoka, I and Waripamowei-Dudafa are the real heroes of that historic concession as we ensured that despite pressures from the hawks within the administration, the President conceded defeat by calling President Buhari as at the time he did.
“We are the real heroes of the concession by Jonathan. We were the ones who made the former President to make the concession call to President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We are not saboteurs, we are patriots. We actually asked Jonathan to concede. I have impeccable democratic credentials; no one can spoil my records.”
“I expect that Jonathan will clear the air on the issue as he knows the truth. However, my forthcoming book will address the issue most comprehensively.” He said
