Jonathan Reveals Pressure to Flee Aso Rock Over Coup Fears During Yar’Adua’s Illness

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has recounted how he faced intense pressure to leave the Presidential Villa amid fears of a military coup while serving as Vice President under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

Speaking in an interview with the Rainbow Book Club about his memoir, *My Transition Hours*, Jonathan described the tense atmosphere in the country during Yar’Adua’s prolonged illness, marked by deep divisions along regional and religious lines.

“Every day I was hearing about a coup,” Jonathan said, revealing that as Yar’Adua’s health deteriorated and he remained abroad for treatment, some of his associates advised him to vacate the Villa for his safety.

“Some of my friends came and said, ‘No, you don’t have to sleep here. You have to come and sleep in my guest house,'” Jonathan recalled. “I said, ‘No. I will stay in the State House. If anybody wants to kill me, it’s better you kill me in the State House so Nigerians will know that they assassinated me here.'”

Jonathan alleged that there were conspiracies at the time aimed at removing him and blocking the South from succeeding Yar’Adua. Despite the looming threats and warnings, he chose to remain in the Villa, insisting he had done nothing wrong.

The interview sheds light on the fraught period leading up to the National Assembly’s adoption of the Doctrine of Necessity, which ultimately elevated Jonathan to Acting President before Yar’Adua’s passing.