Fatimah Otunsanya
Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday paid a visit to President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Wednesday’s meeting is part of a recurring pattern of consultations between the two leaders on West African political affairs and Nigeria’s continental engagements.
The visit, which was held at approximately 4 p.m., was confirmed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who posted photographs of the meeting on his X account, writing: “President Tinubu meets former President Goodluck Jonathan at the Villa.”
The photographs showed both men engaged in what appeared to be a relaxed discussion, with a “Two-Year Milestone” document visible in a corner of the President’s office.
No official statement was issued on the substance of the discussions, but Wednesday’s meeting comes months after Jonathan’s last visit in November 2025.
Jonathan had last visited the Villa in a similar capacity on November 29, 2025, barely hours after being airlifted out of Bissau following a coup staged by soldiers loyal to Brig Gen Dinis Incanha, who arrested incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embaló on November 26, a day before the electoral commission was to announce official results of the November 23 presidential election.
At the time, Jonathan had led the West African Elders Forum election observation mission and was evacuated on a jet reportedly provided by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.
At that November briefing, the former President called on ECOWAS leaders to ensure the release of opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa and the announcement of the election results.
“They cannot kick out the military with force; otherwise, people will die. But let us know who the winner of this election is,” he told reporters after meeting Tinubu.
He added, “It is what some people call a palace coup. It’s not a palace coup. We know real coups. In Nigeria, we know a palace coup when we see one. This was not even a palace coup. I describe it as a ceremonial coup.”
In January 2026, the transitional authorities announced that presidential and legislative elections would be held on December 6, 2026, a timeline ECOWAS had yet to officially endorse, having previously rejected an initial transition calendar proposed by the coup leaders.
Jonathan has spent much of the past decade serving as West Africa’s most active election observer and mediator, with assignments in Mali, The Gambia, Liberia and most recently Guinea-Bissau under the auspices of the West African Elders Forum.
He has described himself as a “roving ambassador.”
