What Jonathan Has Been Up To After Aso Rock.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has maintained a low profile since he handed over Aso Rock Villa to President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2015. 

But he is at present working hard on his memoir, which will be a tell-all book, a close confidant of the ex-president revealed to Daily Trust on Sunday last week.

“The former President, for those who know him closely, is not given to much talks,” the former aide said.

“He’s kept himself from too much on publicity, but I can tell you that he’s busy writing a book, in which he will recount his experience over the years. He’s putting together the records of his administration, his personal files and notes in a research format, with details of how events took place and how decisions were taken. 

That’s why he’s been silent about diverse attacks since he left office. The book will tell his story, and I assure you, many Nigerians will be shocked by its content.”

The memoir, Daily Trust on Sunday learnt, will tell his grass-to-grace story, his political adventures, his experience as Vice-President and President, and the just-concluded election which he lost.

The former aide added that apart from writing a book on his experience, the former president is setting up a foundation, called Goodluck Jonathan Foundation, which will promote good governance, democracy, and engage in humanitarian activities.

The foundation “is not targeting the Niger Delta region alone. Nigerians from all parts of the country will benefit from it. Already he has acquired an office in Abuja, and he’s working closely with local and international consultants on the principles, vision, mission and strategies of the foundation.”

Commenting on the ongoing probe of the petroleum sector under the former president, the close aide argued that nothing would come out of the exercise.

“The former president expected everything that is playing out now. There’s a lot of falsehood being peddled around, and he’s been under pressure to speak but his book will answer many of the questions.

All the allegations about billions of dollar being stolen are the same old story, but I tell you, the ex-president doesn’t have a foreign bank account; he doesn’t own a house abroad. When he travelled abroad in June, he flew on a commercial flight, Air France from Port Harcourt. 

He doesn’t have a private jet. The money he spent during the elections was not his own. People donated to the project. The billions of dollar being talked about, where does one keep those sums? So far, no one has accused him directly, so there is no specific allegation for him to deny. Everything revolves around the old $20 billion. 

Nothing has been traced to anybody, unlike the Abacha loots which were traced to several foreign bank accounts.”

Though no specific mention has been made about stolen funds traced to the former president, Buhari, on a visit to the United States last month, claimed that some $150 billion had been stolen by some officials of former President Jonathan’s regime and that the trial of some suspects in this case would commence in no distant future.