Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, evacuated from Guinea-Bissau following military unrest earlier this week, confirmed Friday that he was flown out aboard a Côte d’Ivoire aircraft because the Ivorian government secured a landing permit more quickly than Nigeria.
Jonathan, who was in Bissau leading the West African Elders Forum Election Observation Mission, expressed gratitude to both nations but clarified that a bureaucratic delay prevented the Nigerian jet from being used.
”Both presidents were to send aircraft to lift us, but somehow, Côte d’Ivoire is closer to Guinea-Bissau… they were able to penetrate their system to get a landing permit before Nigeria could do that,” Jonathan said upon his arrival in Abuja.
He explained that the Ivorian plane was already en route when Nigerian clearance was granted, leading his team to ask the Nigerian aircraft “not to bother.”
The former president also offered a critical assessment of the political turbulence in Guinea-Bissau, refusing to categorize the events as a conventional military takeover. He described the incident as a “ceremonial coup,” noting that the alleged deposed President, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, was communicating freely with media houses.
”The military don’t take over the government, and the sitting President that they overthrew would be allowed to be addressing press conferences and announcing that he has been arrested,” Jonathan questioned, adding: “Who is fooling who?”
Jonathan concluded by urging regional bodies, ECOWAS and the African Union, to prioritize democracy by immediately releasing the collated results of the recently suspended presidential and legislative polls.
