Former President Goodluck Jonathan has revealed that the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua wanted him to handle the affairs of Nigeria while he was seriously ill. However, a close aide to Yar’Adua blocked this plan by refusing to send the necessary letter to the National Assembly.

Jonathan shared this in an interview on X (formerly Twitter) over the weekend. He explained that even though Yar’Adua had written a letter for the Vice President to officially act as President during his absence, the aide who received the letter didn’t submit it as required.

He also spoke about the usual political balance in Nigeria. According to him, leadership is often rotated between the North and South, and between Muslims and Christians. At the time, Yar’Adua—a northern Muslim—had taken over from Obasanjo, a southern Christian, who had ruled for eight years. So many people from the North wanted Yar’Adua to complete his own eight years before leadership could return to the South.

Unfortunately, Yar’Adua’s health condition became a major problem. Jonathan said even allowing him to step in as Acting President became difficult. By law, the President must inform both the Senate and House of Representatives in writing if the Vice President is to take over temporarily. That letter was indeed written—but it was never delivered.

As a result, Nigeria was left in a strange situation. The President was seriously ill and absent, and there was no official Acting President. Jonathan said he continued to carry out some duties, such as attending meetings and approving documents from ministers, but he could not act fully as President—especially as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

He explained that being Nigeria’s President means handling two main roles: one as the country’s chief executive (like a prime minister), and the other as the commander of the military. While he was doing his best with the executive side, he had no authority over the armed forces at the time.

This situation caused confusion in the country until a resolution was later made.