Mustapha, Jonathan and wife, Patience
BY TAIWO FAROTIMI
Goodluck Jonathan, former president has revealed the reasons behind his failure to implement the report of the National Conference done during his tenure. Jonathan who spoke in Abuja at the launching of his book “My Transition Hours”, said the environment was not conducive for the exercise.
He said that the National Assembly was then engulfed in crisis, adding that Aminu Tambuwal , then speaker of the House of Representatives had just decamped to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, while the Senate was equally riddled with crisis.
The former president said, “It was obvious that some members of the National Assembly and their collaborators were ready to shoot down anything that in their thinking would improve the image of my government.”
He however said he was confident that President Muhammadu Buhari would implement the report because of the assurance he got when he personally handed the report to the president. But he was surprised that two years after taking office President Buhari was quoted as saying that the report was fit only for the trash can.
Jonathan hosted scores of people including former heads of states, governors, diplomats and candidate of his political party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar at the event , which also marked his 61st birthday.
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Generals Yakubu Gowon and Abdusalami Abubakar , former Vice President Namadi Sambo were some of those at the Yar’Adua Conference Centre, Abuja where the event took place. Aside from Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation who represented President Buhari, Adams Oshiomhole , chairman of the ruling APC also led other APC leaders to the book launch, including Godswill Akpabio, former governor of Akwa Ibom State now a senator. Akpabio who ruled his state for eight years under Jonathan’s PDP defected recently to the APC.
