Snippets of what transpired after the defeat of President Goodluck
\nJonathan in the March 28, 2015 presidential election are now coming to the
\nopen with Mohammed Bello Adoke, then-attorney-general of the federation,
\nrefusing to disqualify candidate Muhammadu Buhari for certificate forgery.<\/p>\n
In his upcoming book, \u2018On a Platter of Gold: How Jonathan Won and Lost
\nNigeria\u2019, Bolaji Abdullahi \u2014 who served as minister under Jonathan from
\n2011-2014 \u2014 alleged that Olusegun Mimiko, then-governor of Ondo state,
\nwanted Buhari, the APC candidate, prosecuted for \u201ccertificate forgery\u201d and
\ndisqualified from contesting in the election.<\/p>\n
But Adoke, who was considered one of the most powerful ministers under
\nJonathan, argued against it, maintaining that there was no legal basis to
\nprosecute Buhari.<\/p>\n
The APC candidate went on to win the historic election which saw the
\ndefeat of an incumbent president for the first time in Nigeria, but
\nPatience Jonathan gave a piece of her mind to Adoke two days after the
\npoll.<\/p>\n
In an advance copy of the book seen by TheCable, Abdullahi described
\nJonathan as a man who had \u201ca distinct aversion for taking any action that
\ncould be regarded as unlawful or illegal\u201d.<\/p>\n
This, he said, made the attorney-general central to most of the decisions
\nthe former president had to make.<\/p>\n
Abdullahi wrote: \u201cTwo days after the election, Adoke had gone to see the
\npresident in respect of the appointment of a new chief judge for the FCT.
\nWhile waiting in the outer room, the First Lady walked in. He rose to
\ngreet her. But she took one long look at him and hissed: \u2018Useless man. You
\nbetrayed my husband. Now that he has lost the election, you are happy. It
\nwas the same Attorney General that Bayo Ojo used to disqualify Atiku for
\nObasanjo (in 2007). It was the same office that (Mike) Aondoakaa used to
\nmake dead man (Umaru Musa Yar\u2019Adua) to rule Nigeria. But when it comes to
\nmy husband, you will be shouting, constitution, constitution.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Abdullahi said Mimiko was at the forefront of the agitation to have Adoke
\nissue a fiat that would have given the power to a private citizen to
\nprosecute Buhari for certificate forgery which could have led to his
\ndisqualification from the election, \u201cor at the very least, disrupt the
\nelectoral process\u201d.<\/p>\n
Buhari had said his secondary school certificate was with the military
\nauthorities, but after they denied having it, he got a replacement from
\nhis alma mater, Government College, Katsina.<\/p>\n
Adoke stood his ground as pressure grew for him to kick-start the process
\nof disqualifying Buhari \u2014 a situation that made Jonathan\u2019s supporters,
\nincluding his wife, blame the attorney-general for the loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a number of other issues that led many in the president\u2019s
\nimmediate political circle to conclude that Adoke was the reason that
\nPresident Jonathan failed to act with the required toughness on some
\nissues,\u201d Abdullahi wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen in May 2013 the president declared a state of emergency in Borno,
\nAdamawa and Yobe, some of the president\u2019s men, led by Ijaw leader Edwin
\nClark, had asked him to sack the governors of those states as part of the
\nemergency measures. Adoke, on the other hand, counselled the president
\nagainst sacking the governors, insisting that such action had no
\nconstitutional backing. Clark fired back, asking the president to sack
\nAdoke himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cProminent lawyers and civil society groups promptly weighed in on the
\nside of the minister, and commended him for being a \u2018constitutional
\npurist\u2019. They noted that he could easily have allowed the president to act
\ndifferently, if he were so minded, relying on the precedent set by
\nPresident Obasanjo in the case of Plateau State and Governor Joshua Dariye
\nin 2004 \u2013 a matter concerning which the Supreme Court had declined to make
\na definite ruling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abdullahi said a similar situation arose after five governors left the PDP
\nto join APC in November 2013.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome PDP governors had gone to the president and asked that their
\ndecamped (defected) colleagues be removed and be replaced by their
\ndeputies. Their argument was that those governors did not contest the
\nelections by themselves but on behalf of the party. They pointed out that
\nthis had been determined in the case of Amaechi vs. INEC (in 2007), in
\nwhich the Supreme Court ruled that it is the party that contests election
\nand not an individual,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mandates held by those governors were therefore held in trust for the
\nPDP and could not be transferred to another party. If a governor left the
\nparty, as the five governors had done, they ought to leave their mandate
\nbehind. Where their deputies did not follow them to APC, those deputies
\nshould be sworn in as governors without delay. Whereas, where the deputy
\ngovernors had also decamped, a sole administrator should be appointed.
\nFailure to take these steps would amount to robbing Peter to pay Paul.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president summoned the Attorney General and asked for his opinion. In
\nline with his established character, Adoke told the president that the
\nposition being canvassed by the governors could not withstand the test of
\nthe law. The constitution did not grant the president such powers and had
\nspelt out clearly how a governor could be removed from office. If Jonathan
\nwere to act as the governors were canvassing for, it would amount to an
\nimpeachable offence. And that was the end of the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The book will go on sale nationwide from\u00a0November 30, 2017<\/span><\/span>\u00a0after the launch.<\/p>\n Abdullahi was fired as minister of sport in March 2014 by Jonathan He is currently the national publicity secretary of the APC.<\/p>\n TheCableng.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Snippets of what transpired after the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28, 2015 presidential election are now coming to the open with Mohammed Bello Adoke, then-attorney-general of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nallegedly on account of his \u201cgodfather\u201d, Bukola Saraki, who had joined
\nother party rebels in defecting to the APC.<\/p>\n