President Buhari on Monday said he never anticipated that the former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan would concede defeat so easily after the March 2015 presidential election.
President Buhari, while hosting State House correspondents to a lunch at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, as part of the activities marking his one year in office said it was beyond his expectation that Jonathan could throw in the towel like that.
He said “This is where I pay my respect to former President Goodluck Jonathan. This is actually privileged information for you.”
“He called me at a quarter-past-five in the evening. He said, ‘Good evening, Your Excellency, sir’ and I said, ‘Good evening.’ He said, ‘I have called to congratulate you that I have conceded defeat.’
“Of course, there was dead silence on my end because I did not expect it. I was shocked.”
“I did not expect it because after 16 years; the man was a deputy governor, governor, vice-president and was president for six years.
“For him to have conceded defeat even before the result was announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, I think it was quite generous and gracious of him.
“Gen. Abdulsalami recognised the generosity of Jonathan to concede defeat and said we should go and thank him immediately and that was the first time I came here.”