Jonathan at 59: PDP, Fani-Kayode describe ex-President as icon of democracy

Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said yesterday that if former President Goodluck Jonathan had not conceded the 2015 Presidential election and congratulated his opponent, President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria would have been plunged into a cauldron of fire.
This came as Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has congratulated the former President on his 59th birthday, describing him as an “Icon of democracy and a great achiever.” According to Fani-Kayode, instead of thanking him, those same forces have repaid his good with evil. He added that the former President had proved to the world that African leaders could be competent, kind, gentle, humane and selfless.
In his birthday message to   former President Jonathan at 59, Fani-Kayode, who was the spokesperson to Jonathan‘s Presidential Campaign Organisation, described his boss as a man of honour and peace and one that had brought joy and hope to millions of Nigerians. The statement read:  “Happy 59th birthday to President Goodluck Jonathan, a man of honor and peace and one that has brought so much joy and hope to millions. “You have proved to the world that African leaders can be competent, kind, gentle, humane and selfless. “You have everything to be proud of and much still lies ahead for you in the affairs of our nation.
“You are the light amidst the darkness: a man that was prepared to let go of power whilst others craved for it, abuse it and are obsessed with it. “Had it not been for that single and historic decision that you made to concede the election last year and congratulate your opponent, Nigeria would have been plunged into a cauldron of fire and the most bloody civil war that the world has ever known.” Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has congratulated former President Jonathan on his 59th birthday, describing him as an “ icon of democracy and a great achiever.”
The party, in a statement yesterday by the spokesman, Dayo Adeyeye, said Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s “legacies and achievements in academia, politics, governance and social life remains indelible and worthy of emulation by well-meaning people. “You are a shining light during and after office as one of the heads of state in Nigeria and Africa in general who willingly conceded power to the opposition in the interest of peace and democracy.” Adeyeye said   in less than two years of leaving office, “Nigerians are yearning and crying for your return especially as your successor who won the 2015 Presidential Election on the altar of propaganda and lies against your administration has done no better since he took over from you on May 29, 2015.
“Your Excellency, the harvest of your electoral reforms for free, fair and credible electoral and democratic processes for which the All Progressive Congress, APC, is the primary beneficiary of have been eroded and quickly replaced with inconclusive elections, electoral apathy, voter inducement, intimidation, harassment and unfair incarceration of judges and squeezing of opposition at all levels. ‘’This reversal of your achievements is also visible in all sectors of our economy as the vibrant and largest economy you left behind in May 2015 is today in great recession and near depression. “Your Excellency Sir, this is your 59th Birthday Anniversary, and so let us allow you celebrate instead of bothering you with the sick and comatose state of our economy. “We pray the Almighty God to bless you with good health and many more years of service to your home state, Bayelsa, Nigeria, Africa and the world in general.”