African Independence Leaders & Post-Colonial Figures Codexery

Goodluck Jonathan

First Nigerian president to concede election defeat.

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Goodluck Jonathan

World Economic Forum · via Wikipedia: Goodluck Jonathan · CC BY-SA 2.0

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan served as president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015, becoming the first incumbent to lose re-election.[1]

Last updated 2026-09-30 from the source article.

Life and work

He worked as an education inspector, lecturer, and environmental-protection officer before entering politics in 1998.[2] On 29 May 1999, Jonathan was sworn in as deputy governor of Bayelsa State alongside Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.[3] He became governor on 9 December 2005 after Alamieyeseigha was removed by the state house of assembly.[3] Jonathan was named acting president on 9 February 2010 following President Yar'Adua's medical trip to Saudi Arabia.[4]

After Yar'Adua's death, Jonathan was sworn in as substantive president on 6 May 2010.[5] In January 2014, Jonathan signed the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, imposing up to 14 years in prison for gay marriages.[6][7] On 31 March 2015, Jonathan conceded the presidential election to Muhammadu Buhari, stating "Nobody's ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian".[8] During Jonathan's tenure, Nigeria recalculated its gross domestic product for the first time in over ten years, which resulted in the country surpassing South Africa and Egypt to become Africa's largest economy.[9]

Projects completed while Jonathan was in office included the Abuja-Kaduna railway and the second Niger Bridge connecting Onitsha and Asaba.[10]

What the cited sources add

The same profile notes that Jonathan was picked as running mate to Chief Diepriye Alamieyeseigha in the 1999 election and won the Best Performing Deputy Governor Award from the Institute of Public Administration in 2002.[11] Siollun also reports that Jonathan fired Central Bank governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi after Sanusi alleged $20bn of oil revenue was unaccounted for.[12] An MSN News report from 31 March 2015 states that Aviation Minister Osita Chidoka confirmed Jonathan called Buhari to concede defeat.[13]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Goodluck Jonathan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Heyford, "Jonathan: A Colossus at 49", Summit Publications Ltd., 11 December 2006; "Goodluck Jonathan", www.britannica.com; Siollun, "How Goodluck Jonathan lost the Nigerian election", The Guardian, 1 April 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Goodluck Jonathan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Profile: Goodluck Jonathan", BBC News, 6 May 2010; "Goodluck Jonathan", www.britannica.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Goodluck Jonathan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The man Goodluck Ebele Jonathan"; Apindi, "Former president Goodluck Jonathan's biography: 2024 update - Legit.ng", www.legit.ng, 2020-11-23 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Goodluck Jonathan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan 'is acting president'", 25 February 2010; Uwugiaren, "Jonathan Redeploys Aondoakaa", AllAfrica, 10 February 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Goodluck Jonathan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: President,Commander-In-Chief.aspx News Agency of Nigeria story on newly sworn President Jonathan; " ". Punch Newspaper; "National Assembly confirms Sambo as Vice President" , Liberty News; Jide, "Nigeria: Sambo, Anenih to Head Jonathan's Campaign", 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Goodluck Jonathan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Press, "Nigeria's president signs law imposing up to 14 years' jail for gay relationships", The Guardian, 2014-01-13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Goodluck Jonathan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The simple reason Nigeria just banned gay marriage and gay meetings", Business Insider, 14 January 2014; Associated Press (13 January 2014) Nigeria's president signs law imposing up to 14 years' jail for gay relationships The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2014. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Goodluck Jonathan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: You will soon see that APC is grossly overrated, says Jonathan – TheCable", TheCable, 26 March 2015; "Cabinet minister: Nigerian president concedes to Buhari", MSN News, 31 March 2015; Wakili, "Jonathan to PDP: Don't mourn my loss", Daily Trust, 20 May 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Goodluck Jonathan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Heyford, "Jonathan: A Colossus at 49", Summit Publications Ltd., 11 December 2006; "Buhari earns $58bn in 27 months to Jonathan's $454bn in 6 years", The Sun, 15 August 2017; "Goodluck Jonathan", www.britannica.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Goodluck Jonathan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Siollun, "How Goodluck Jonathan lost the Nigerian election", The Guardian, 1 April 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Heyford, "Jonathan: A Colossus at 49", Summit Publications Ltd., 11 December 2006. facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org
  12. Siollun, "How Goodluck Jonathan lost the Nigerian election", The Guardian, 1 April 2015. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  13. "Cabinet minister: Nigerian president concedes to Buhari", MSN News, 31 March 2015. facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Goodluck Jonathan (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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