Former
President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday said Nigeria needs to get to a stage
where it would no longer wait for court judgments to conclude elections.
Speaking at the 6th edition of African
Ambassadors Interactive Forum, AAIF, and dinner, organised by African Third
Sector Resource, ATSR, in Abuja, Mr. Jonathan noted that by conceding defeat
before the 2015 election result was declared, he wanted to set a new standard
for the nation’s democracy and prove a point that election related litigation
should no longer define Nigeria’s democracy.
According to a report published by Vanguard,
Mr. Jonathan was also presented the “African Leadership & Achievement Award,”
at the event.
“I always say that I reformed the democratic
process as President in order to consolidate democracy in Nigeria and the
sub-region,” he said. “I conceded defeat without a fight because I wanted to
set a standard for our democracy, going forward.
“My aim then was to change the narrative and
prove that election related litigations should no longer define Nigeria’s
democracy. People must not always go to court and obtain judgments before
elections in Nigeria are declared complete.
“We don’t get to hear about such court cases in
mature democracies. I wanted us to get to that point in our democratic
experience. I thought that it won’t be out of place if we got to that stage
where those who lost elections will be able to congratulate those who won.”
Mr. Jonathan said his commitment to the
protection of lives and investments of Nigerian people, their assets and the
economy made him concede defeat and avert looming crises.
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