Why Atiku has right to challenge Buhari’s re-election in court — Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has backed PDP presidential candidate in 2019, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s decision to challenge the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in court.

Jonathan said it was wrong to compare the circumstances in which he conceded defeat in 2015 to Atiku’s situation in the 2019 presidential election, saying that the fundamentals of both elections were different.

“It is not right for anybody to compare Jonathan’s decision in 2015 with Atiku’s position in 2019 because they are two different scenarios,” the ex-president said.

“In 2015, I was a sitting President. Although INEC is an independent body, every structure of government still operates under the President, one way or the other.

“So I was a president and INEC conducted the elections under my watch. Atiku is not a sitting president and if he or the party feel that things were not done right, of course, they are at liberty to challenge it in court.”

Jonathan praised his achievements in office, especially in the area of the economy.

He said, “Nigeria was the number one destination for foreign direct investment under my tenure. We were rated the biggest economy in Africa. We transformed the agricultural sector and brought the nation closer to food self-sufficiency.

“Our currency was stable and inflationary pressure was kept at a single digit. We may not have been comfortable with the exchange rate of less than N200 to the dollar at that time but I can tell you that the economy was stable.

“The stability we had ensured that business people and investors could plan because you were sure of the exchange rate and the cost of your goods at any point in time, whether you were exporting or importing. Economically, you could say that Nigeria was stable and strong.’’

He admitted that although there were areas his administration could have improved, the economic stability achieved under his watch had the capacity to launch the country to greater heights after his tenure.