Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu describes Jonathan's new book as a disaster

Shehu had earlier called on Nigerians to disregard some of the claims made by the former President in his new book.

Jonathan, in his new book – My Transition Hours which he launched on Tuesday, November 20, 2018, reportedly quoted a Transparency International report which alleged that corruption has increased under Buhari.

What about Patience Jonathan

In an interview with Arise TV, Shehu said that the former President blamed everybody but his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan in his book.

According to Daily Post, the presidential spokesman said that the book should not have been written in the first place.

He said “I have read online that some of his former ministers have come out to say that they never said he must not hand over.

“And of course, we have seen some statements coming from him. So, we have seen a lot of confusions in the publication.

“And then, was that what he was set out to achieve? I am not sure that anyone will write a book simply to cause confusion.

“I think that from all the actions we are getting, I think the only person Mr. Jonathan didn’t blame in that book is his wife.

“He blamed everybody under the sun for the things that went wrong with his election, for how he lost. So, therefore, I think that book is a disaster. It shouldn’t have been written.”

The Borno state Governor, Kashim Shettima had also rubbished the former President’s book, calling it a ‘presidential tale by mid-day’.

Jonathan reacts

Jonathan, in his reaction, said that the plot to discredit his book will not succeed.

An excerpt of his statement issued by his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze, reads: “Garba Shehu towed a revisionist path when he claimed that Jonathan’s anti-corruption records couldn’t be substantiated.

“Has he forgotten that facts don’t lie? The only credible and globally recognized anti-corruption marker is Transparency International. Nigeria’s best ranking in TI’s corruption perception index still remains her placing in 2014, under President Jonathan, as the 136th out of all the countries ranked.

“This is far better than the last position recorded under the present government where Nigeria was ranked as number 148, a decline that took the nation 12 places backward.

“Rather than continue to raise a false banner of piety which apparently is no longer working, this administration would have served itself and the country better by understudying the success nuggets of its predecessors.

“Only then will they learn that Jonathan was able to do this through effective implementation of sound economic policies and institutional anti-corruption measures established by his administration.

“Part of the successful tools established by Jonathan to fight corruption included the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS, which weeded out 50,000 ghost federal workers and saved the country N15 billion monthly.

“The institutional framework also included the establishment of such mechanisms as the treasury single account (TSA), and bank verification number (BVN), vital anti-corruption tools which are now shamelessly being appropriated by those that inherited them.

“There is no doubt that Jonathan provided focused leadership on the economic front, through institutional and sectoral reforms which impacted positively on the fundamentals for growth.

“Having sowed wisely, the Jonathan administration reaped bountifully by keeping inflation at a single digit, growing Nigeria’s economy to become the largest in Africa with a GDP of over half a trillion US dollars, and becoming the number one foreign direct investment destination on the continent.

“All those were achieved because there were credible and sustainable economic programmes that were quite appealing to both local investors and the global business community.

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“It is a known fact that businesses, growth and economic well-being shy away from corrupt territories. Doesn’t the fact that Nigeria has regressed to become the country with the highest number of poor people on earth, with tens of millions of jobs lost in less than four years, tell us something about where we now stand as a nation on anti-corruption fight?"

Goodluck Jonathan, in his book, also claimed that the terror group, Boko Haram, wanted him to renounce his Christian faith and accept Islam while he was president.