Jonathan not prepared for Presidency –Graham-Douglas.

President Goodluck Jonathan was not prepared for the office of Vice President from where he subsequently emerged President of Nigeria, former Minister of Aviation, Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas, said in Yenagoa on Wednesday.

Graham-Douglas

He spoke of how he and others practically begged Jonathan to accept the Vice Presidency in 2007 to assuage the feelings of the Ijaw in the South-South geo-political zone.

Graham-Douglas spoke at his 75th birthday celebration put together for him by the Azaiki Public Library in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.

Graham-Douglas was born on May 8, 1939 into the Orubibi Douglas family of Abonnema in Akuku-Toru Local Government area of Rivers State.

The four-time minister said he travelled to London to prevail on Jonathan to accept the idea of vice presidency in order to scuttle the Presidential ambition of former Rivers State Governor, Peter Odili, after a meeting involving him and some Northern elements, including the late Olusola Saraki.

Graham-Douglas, who had also served as Minister of Employment, Labour and Productivity as well as that of Youths, Sports and Social Development, noted that Odili already had procured over 3,500 delegates to the national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said nobody had the political muscle to defeat Odili.

“I played a very, very pivotal role in the emergence of Jonathan (as Vice President). I set up a system between ourselves and the Northern Union,” he recalled.

Graham-Douglas added: “I was a friend of (Olusola) Saraki. We decided that we must have President and Vice President.

“I travelled all the way to London to see our leader (Jonathan) after I brokered the whole thing and I said, ‘please come and lead us, we can’t allow (Peter) Odili to be the President of this country.’

“He (Odili) had 3,500 delegates with him and there was nobody to defeat him.

“Our son Jonathan was not prepared for it. But by the divine intervention, by the special grace of God, our efforts got crowned with success and he emerged as Vice President”.

He said he had earlier cautioned the President over issues of insurgency in the Northern part of the country.

According to Graham-Douglas, all the dastardly acts of terrorism were targeted at derailing the government of Jonathan as demonstrated by the activities of Boko Haram.

He stated that as a four-time minister, who was in the nation’s “inner circle”, he would have a lot of the issues revealed in his yet to be published autobiography. 

“What is happening today is a consistent circle of intrigues, conspiracy and manipulations…but people are looking at it, say, okay…carry girls, Boko Haram. What are they after?” he queried.

Graham-Douglas also stated that he single-handedly brought Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to Bayelsa and Rivers States, adding he financed the activities of the party at the time in the two states.

He said he facilitated the emergence of Odili as Governor of Rivers and Diepreye Alamieyeseigha as Governor of Bayelsa.

“I brought PDP to Bayelsa and Rivers states. I financed the PDP in Bayelsa and Rivers states and I put the best Governors in Bayelsa and Rivers states. I did,” he stated.

He also pointed out that although he had contributed immensely to the creation of Bayelsa during the military junta of late General Sani Abacha, former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Steve Azaiki, was the only personality from the state who had recognised and appreciated his efforts, especially with the birthday celebration. 

In his remarks, Azaiki described Graham-Douglas as a man of many parts who had contributed immensely to the growth and development of the country.