Former President Goodluck Jonathan has given a subtly jibe at the President Muhammadu Buhari saying no single Nigerian was detained for criticizing him adding that he never ruled with nepotism.
The ex-president said this during the Nigerian Lawyers Association’s annual dinner and merit awards ceremony held in New York, on Saturday.
Jonathan declared this on his tweeter handle, @GEJonathan, also reeled out what he said were his administration’s achievements in promoting democracy and the rule of law.
He spoke on the topic, “Diversity as our Bridge to Tomorrow,” said in one tweet, “No matter what my critics said about me, I ensured that there was both freedom of speech and freedom after the speech.”
In other tweets he said, “Under my watch, not a single Nigerian was sent to prison because of anything they wrote or said about me or the administration. Nigeria had neither political prisoners nor political exile under my administration. We enacted the Freedom of Information Act and by that we tore the veil of secrecy covering governance.”
Jonathan said, “We gave institutions unlimited freedom and ensured that the NBA (Nigerian Bar Association) and other professional institutions were devoid of any government influence, we enacted the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 to promote efficient management of criminal justice institutions in Nigeria.”
He also used the opportunity to tell his guests that he could not be accused of nepotism because “most of my principal aides in government hailed from different ethnic nationalities.”
On appointments into the nation’s electoral management body, Jonathan said, “We ensured that appointments into INEC were not based on personal relationships.”
He enjoined Nigerians in the Diaspora especially those in the United States to continue to give support to democratic governance back home. Although Jonathan did not mention any Nigerian being incarcerated for holding an opposing political view to the administration which succeeded him, it is common knowledge that several of his former aides and political associates are currently in custody on corruption related charges.
