Jonathan, Nigeria’s Poorest Ex-President – Envoy

Former career diplomat, Amb Godknows Igali has said that former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, has remained one of the poorest former Nigerian leaders, even in Africa in recent years.
Igali also said that the immediate past Nigerian President was currently struggling to settle some of his 2015 election liabilities.
The retired permanent secretary, who made this startling revelation in an interactive session with some journalists, at the weekend in Abuja said that despite the allegations of corruption levelled against some of the officials and associates of Jonathan during his tenure as Nigeria’s President, he left his exalted position as a fulfilled man but insolvent, as compared to most of his retired predecessors.
According to him, even with the corruption accusations against his regime, none of the corruption cases has so far been linked directly to Jonathan.
Igali said, “I am glad that some of you journalists are privileged to know where he (Jonathan) lives and where he has his private offices in this country. I do not think Jonathan can be considered a very rich man.
“You must realise that none of those corruption allegations has been personally linked to him. Jonathan is not a rich man, take it from me. He may be comfortable but not rich. But l know that his pension as a former president is enough to take care of him.”
Igali, who had served as Permanent Secretary in both Ministries of Power and Water Resources, described the ex-President as a “modest” man whose lifestyle and background were humble.
He said, “Indeed Jonathan is still struggling to pay some election liabilities from 2015 till today. Despite all the stories of flying billions, Jonathan borrowed money to prosecute some aspects of his election and he is struggling in different ways to meet up.
“There is a lot of untruths that is being said about him, but l believe history will be very fair to him. He is a very simple man. His background and lifestyle are very simple. He is not jingoistic.
“Thank God, some of you guys know where he has an office and where he lives in Maitama. Which former President of Nigeria lives in that kind of place? Former President Jonathan’s parlour in his Maitama house cannot accommodate more than 10 persons.
“Look at his dining table; it is like any other house in Maitama. The only way you will know that a former president of this country is living there is the presence of security men and which he is entitled to as a former president.”
The former Nigeria’s ambassador to Sweden, Finland, Venezuela and Cameroon at different times, however, expressed regrets over what he described as the way Jonathan’s regime was being discredited as if nothing was good in terms of positive achievements for the country.