"YAR' ADUA WROTE A LETTER WHEN HE WAS SICK, BUT AIDE REFUSED TO DELIVER IT"- JONATHAN REVEALS.

In a stunning revelation, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has disclosed a dramatic episode from his tenure as Vice President, when a critically ill President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua attempted to transfer power to him via a letter that was never delivered.

The failure to deliver the letter, Jonathan claims, left Nigeria without a functioning president or commander-in-chief, sparking fears of a military coup and threats to his own life.

Speaking at a private event in Abuja, Jonathan recounted the tense period in 2009-2010 when Yar’Adua’s deteriorating health incapacitated him, creating a leadership vacuum.

But one of his aides refused to deliver the letter. Nigeria had no president, and no commander-in-chief.

“When Yar’Adua was too ill to govern, he wrote a letter to hand over power to me,” Jonathan revealed. “But one of his aides refused to deliver the letter. Nigeria had no president, and no commander-in-chief.”

The absence of clear leadership fueled political instability, with rumors of a potential coup circulating in the capital. Jonathan, then Vice President, faced intense pressure and personal danger.

“I was hearing about coup plots, and some people felt I could be killed,” he said. Advisers urged him to relocate to a guest house for safety, but Jonathan refused, determined to face any threat head-on.

Before I will go to a guest house and get killed, then the story will be that some Indian girls came to give me apple in a hotel.

“I said no, if they [coup plotters] want to kill me, let them kill me inside the State House,” he recounted. “Before I will go to a guest house and get killed, then the story will be that some Indian girls came to give me apple in a hotel.”

Jonathan’s remarks shed new light on the constitutional crisis that gripped Nigeria during Yar’Adua’s illness, which culminated in Yar’Adua’s death in May 2010 and Jonathan’s ascension to the presidency. The undelivered letter, allegedly withheld by a loyal aide, exacerbated tensions and delayed the formal transfer of power, leaving the nation vulnerable.

The former president’s comments have sparked renewed debate about the need for robust succession mechanisms in Nigeria’s constitution to prevent future leadership vacuums. As the nation reflects on this chaotic chapter, Jonathan’s account serves as a sobering reminder of the fragility of power and the resilience required to navigate it.