Nigeria's President says he rejected offer to become AU chairman

Abuja (WorldStage Newsonline)-- Nigeria's presidency on Monday refuted the reports that President Goodluck Jonathan was defeated by his Benin Republic counterpart, Boni Yayi to become the chairman of African Union at the weekend.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati , said the president actually rejected the offer on the ground that it would be practically difficult for him to combine the three positions of President of Nigeria, Chairman of ECOWAS and Chairman of African Union.
The statement said that it was the president's preference for ECOWAS to adopt the leader of another country, that paved way for the unanimous adoption of President Yayi who had indicated interest in the position by the ECOWAS Heads of State as the sub-region’s candidate for the AU Chair.
It said the report that Jonathan lost the African Union (AU) chairmanship slot to President Yayi was unfounded.
The presidency also explained that Jonathan was not a candidate for the position and so did not contest for AU Chairmanship.
A statement stated that rather than being “defeated” by President Yayi as speculated, President Jonathan actually facilitated his emergence as AU Chairman.
He also said there was no contest in the first place for the position zoned to West Africa.
According to the statement reads:"President Jonathan Did Not Contest for AU Chairmanship It has come to our attention that some media houses are alleging that President Goodluck Jonathan was "defeated" by President Yayi Boni of Benin Republic in the “contest” to elect a new African Union Chairman at the 18th AU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This report is false and is only the latest in a series of sensational and fictional reporting in a bid to cast the administration of President Jonathan in bad light. Let me make the following clear:
"It is not true that President Yayi Boni “defeated” President Goodluck Jonathan in an election; there was no contest in the first place and President Jonathan was not a candidate for the AU Chairmanship position.
"It is also not true that President John Atta Mills opposed President Jonathan at any time. Ghana and Nigeria enjoy excellent relations.
" It is true, however, that in the last week, some newspapers have been speculating that President Jonathan may be adopted by the ECOWAS Heads of States and Governments to be the next chairman of the African Union, since it was the turn of ECOWAS to produce the AU Chairman for 2012-2013. Mr. President was indeed approached by leaders within and outside the West African sub-region to take up the challenge of leading the AU for the next one year.
" While appreciating this kind gesture, President Jonathan resolved that he needed time to focus on domestic affairs in Nigeria, and that it would be practically difficult for him to combine the three positions of President of Nigeria, Chairman of ECOWAS and Chairman of African Union. He therefore rejected the offer.
" In order to make his position clear, President Jonathan, in his capacity as ECOWAS Chairman, summoned a mini-Summit of ECOWAS at the AU Commission Headquarters on Saturday, January 28, 2012, to ensure that there was a meeting of minds on the position of AU Chairman. His preference, he noted, would be for ECOWAS to adopt the leader of another country, in order to promote a sense of belonging among member-states. Nigeria, having occupied the position of AU Chairman four times in the past, would readily support any such country.
"As it turned out, the President of the Republic of Benin had indicated interest in the position, which paved the way for his unanimous adoption by the ECOWAS Heads of State as the sub-region’s candidate for the AU Chair. Thus, it becomes obvious that President Jonathan rather than being “defeated” by President Yayi Boni of Benin actually facilitated his emergence as AU Chairman."

http://www.worldstagegroup.com/worldstage/index.php?&id=3756&active=news

Contrary to popular believe. . , what do you folks think?? It seems like the media is hell bent on generating stories just for the sake of it, methinks the above article may portray the true story though?

All the Francophone newspapers that I read reported the exact opposite of what Reuben Abati had claimed in his press statement to Nigerians. Even before the summit, on January 26, 2012, the pan-Francophonic weekly magazine, Jeune Afrique, had reported “murmurs” of President Jonathan’s ambition. The report indicates that Cotonou “was surprised” by the information on the Nigerian president’s ambition. In the penultimate paragraph of its own report, Benininfo.com insists that the names of Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh and Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan had made the round as “candidates” in addition to Yayi Boni but the leaders of West African countries decided to support the candidacy of Yayi Boni.

According to La Nouvelle Tribune, it was only after these public announcements of support for Boni by other West African delegations, and after further pressure by Ghana, that Nigeria finally saw the handwriting on the wall and backed off. All the Francophone radio stations that I listened to on January 29 and 30, from Gabon to Benin Republic, Togo to Senegal, and Mali to Côte d’Ivoire, pretty much confirmed these details as reported in the newspapers. True, they confirmed it in the celebratory tone informed by the usual Francophone/Anglophone rivalry, complete with the usual hints of giant resentment but they were nonetheless all very consistent in terms of the details of Nigeria’s ambition. And Reuben Abati would have us believe that none of this ever happened


http://saharareporters.com/column/my-father-motor-car-reuben-abati-gej-and-addis-ababa-fiasco-pius-adesanmi

Why are people worrying themselves about Gej contesting AU Chairmanship? Is there any big deal if he lost in d election? The man made it public that he did nt contest,some said it is a lie. Why should people not mind their business rather than poke nosing in trivial matters?