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The former President returned to Abuja on Thursday following his evacuation from Guinea-Bissau after a military coup. He landed at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport after being airlifted from Guinea-Bissau in the wake of the takeover.
He thanked the President of Ivory Coast and President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria for sending planes to lift him from Bissau.
Jonathan had been in Guinea-Bissau as part of a joint election observer mission deployed by the African Union, AU, ECOWAS, and the West African Elders Forum to monitor the presidential and legislative elections.
However, military authorities in the country on Wednesday declared that they had assumed full control. They also announced the suspension of all electoral activities and the immediate closure of national borders.
Jonathan therefore found himself trapped in Guinea-Bissau following the announcement of the military takeover on Wednesday.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, Jonathan said: “I’ve always been scared talking to the media, but in this particular case, I decided to speak to the media. First and foremost, thank Nigerians for the show of empathy, the encouragement while we’re in Bissau, and this so-called coup happened.
“The information we got was that the whole country was agitated, young and old, irrespective of religious divides or political divides.
“And I sincerely appreciate Nigerians, and I want them to hear directly from my mouth, to appreciate their concern. And secondly, to thank my president, President Tinubu and the President of Ivory Coast.
“Both presidents were to send aircraft to lift us, but somehow, Ivory Coast is closer to Guinea-Bissau, and there’s always some relationship between Francophone countries, and they were able to penetrate their system to get a landing permit before Nigeria did.
“The Ivorian aircraft was already on its way to Bissau when we learned about the Nigerian aircraft about to depart, we asked them not to bother.”
