30th January, 2012
Oluokun Ayorinde/Abuja
President Goodluck Jonathan said he did not contest for election as the Chairman of African Union, contrary to reports in the media.
In a statement signed on his behalf by Reuben Abati, his media spokesperson, the President said that he was “defeated” by President Yayi Boni of Benin Republic in the “contest” to elect a new African Union Chairman at the 18th AU summit in Addis Ababa, “is false and is only the latest in a series of sensational and fictional reporting in a bid to cast his administration in bad light”.
The President affirmed in the statement that there was no contest for the AU Chairmanship position. “It is also not true that President John Atta Mills opposed President Jonathan at any time. Ghana and Nigeria enjoy excellent relations”, said Abati.
He however agreed in the statement that some newspapers have been speculating that President Jonathan may be adopted by the ECOWAS Heads of States and Governments to be the next chairman of the African Union, since it was the turn of ECOWAS to produce the AU Chairman for 2012-2013 since last week.
He also confirmed that President Jonathan was approached by leaders within and outside the West African sub-region to take up the position of chairmanship of AU for the next one year.
“While appreciating this kind gesture, President Jonathan resolved that he needed time to focus on domestic affairs in Nigeria, and that it would be practically difficult for him to combine the three positions of President of Nigeria, Chairman of ECOWAS and Chairman of African Union. He therefore rejected the offer”, the presidency explained in the statement.”
“In order to make his position clear, President Jonathan, in his capacity as ECOWAS Chairman, summoned a mini-Summit of ECOWAS at the AU Commission Headquarters on Saturday, January 28, 2012, to ensure that there was a meeting of minds on the position of AU Chairman. His preference, he noted, would be for ECOWAS to adopt the leader of another country, in order to promote a sense of belonging among member-states. Nigeria, having occupied the position of AU Chairman four times in the past, would readily support any such country.
“ As it turned out, the President of the Republic of Benin had indicated interest in the position, which paved the way for his unanimous adoption by the ECOWAS Heads of State as the sub-region’s candidate for the AU Chair. Thus, it becomes obvious that President Jonathan rather than being “defeated” by President Yayi Boni of Benin actually facilitated his emergence as AU Chairman”, Abati concluded.