Former President Goodluck Jonathan visits President Bola Tinubu at Aso Villa following Supreme Court verdict

 

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has visited President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the nation’s capital. The visit comes 24 hours after the Supreme Court upheld Tinubu’s election in the keenly contested February 25, 2023 presidential poll.

While the reason for Jonathan’s visit could not be ascertained, he, however, could be seen in a video congratulating Tinubu on the Supreme Court’s verdict. Briefing journalists after the closed-door meeting with the President, Jonathan said his visit was to inform Tinubu of some of his recent foreign engagements as well as some sundry issues affecting the country. He said the visit also afforded him the opportunity to congratulate the President over Thursday’s judgment, insisting that with the legal tussles over, the country must move forward.

Acknowledging the numerous challenges facing Nigeria, Jonathan is optimistic that the country has all it takes to take the lead in Africa. “There are certain things we discussed that the country must move forward. Elections are over, we must move forward,” the ex-President said. “Yes, we have challenges economically now, we still have all it takes to lead. These are some of the issues I will continue to have a conversation with Mr President, including briefing him on all my foreign programmes because they are not personal issues.

“Traditionally, if a former president goes outside the country for this continental, regional or international, they come home and tell the President. That is the tradition. Most of the time, when you see me here, it is because of this thing we must do to move Nigeria, ECOWAS, and the African continent forward.” He called on all political leaders, including former presidents to eschew bitterness and work together in harmony for the country’s overall good.

According to Jonathan, there is a need to end the tension and move forward together as Africa’s most populous nation.