Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja to provide a detailed briefing on the recent electoral developments in Guinea-Bissau. The briefing focused on what Jonathan described as irregularities following the country’s election and the subsequent detention of opposition leaders.

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Jonathan Describes Guinea-Bissau Situation as “Ceremonial Coup”

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Dr. Jonathan clarified that the political incident following the election should not be classified as a conventional coup. Instead, he referred to it as a “ceremonial coup” carried out by the country’s head of state.

“What was described as a coup in Guinea-Bissau after the election is not in the actual sense a coup but rather what I would describe as a ceremonial coup conducted by the Head of State,” Jonathan stated.

He explained that the election process itself was largely concluded, with results nearly finalized. However, the arrest of the opposition candidate, according to Jonathan, was unnecessary and uncalled for.

“The results of the election were already known. There is no reason to arrest the opposition candidate because he had not announced himself as the winner of the election. If he had done so, that would have been considered a treasonable offence,” he added.

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Importance of Briefing the President

Jonathan emphasized that it is customary for former Nigerian presidents to brief the sitting president on regional and continental matters, especially in situations involving ECOWAS member states.

“All these regional and continental issues, whenever you are involved, require that you brief the President when you return home. This ensures that the sitting president has first-hand information, particularly ahead of ECOWAS meetings, which I may not attend,” Jonathan said.

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Call for ECOWAS Intervention

The former president urged ECOWAS leaders to engage with Guinea-Bissau’s leadership to ensure proper electoral outcomes and the release of detained opposition figures.

“The key thing is that the winner of the election must be announced. I am asking ECOWAS leadership to reach out to the leadership in Guinea-Bissau. They are human beings; they know the right thing to do,” Jonathan said.

He stressed the importance of releasing the opposition candidate and ensuring that the legitimately elected winner is inaugurated, highlighting the broader need to improve governance standards across Africa.

“We are tired of negative stories in Africa. What happened in Guinea-Bissau is not what some people would call a palace coup. We know real coups, especially in Nigeria. This was ceremonial and conducted by the Head of State himself,” Jonathan explained.

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Jonathan’s Perspective on African Democracy

Through his briefing, Jonathan highlighted the challenges of maintaining democratic norms in Africa while calling for regional cooperation to safeguard electoral integrity. He underscored that military interventions in electoral processes must be avoided, stressing the importance of announcing election results transparently.

“Let the ECOWAS leadership ensure that the election winner is recognized and inaugurated. That is the way forward for democracy in Africa,” Jonathan concluded.