Goodluck Jonathan Reflects on 2015 Defeat: ‘I Was Betrayed’

  • Jonathan claims betrayal by PDP insiders
  • Blames Adamu Mu’azu, Northern elites, IGP
  • Anger with party drove his distance from PDP

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has stated that his unexpected loss in the 2015 presidential election was the result of betrayal from within his own party.

Eko Hot Blog reports that Jonathan, in his book Against the Run of Play by Olusegun Adeniyi, candidly named key figures—including then PDP National Chairman Adamu Mu’azu, his Inspector General of Police, and several Northern party leaders as instrumental in undermining his campaign by colluding with the opposition. His emotional recounting reveals the personal and political wounds from that pivotal moment.

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In the memoir, Jonathan accused the IGP whom he appointed of defecting mid-election to support his rival, and lamented that results from strongholds like Ondo, Benue, and Plateau appeared anomalously skewed against him. He accused Mu’azu of subverting the party’s interests and contributing to the collapse of his re-election bid. “What happened was very sad not for me as a person, but for our democracy,” he reflected.

Goodluck Jonathan

The ripple effects of this perceived betrayal went beyond electoral defeat. According to PANDEF leader Chief Edwin Clark, Jonathan’s disillusionment with the PDP and his eventual disengagement from party meetings stemmed from this internal sabotage and the erosion of trust he felt. Clark said this betrayal taught Jonathan a hard lesson about loyalty and political alliances.

Not everyone shared this narrative. Former Bayelsa security adviser Perekeme Kpodoh suggested Jonathan had also betrayed key supporters; he argued that many in the Niger Delta and beyond returned the favor politically in 2015.

Jonathan’s retrospection brings to light the fragile nature of political trust and loyalty. It shows how internal fractures within a political party can have consequences that ripple far beyond a single election cycle.

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