President of the Republic of Niger, Alhaji Mahamadou Issoufou, says President Goodluck Jonathan’s conduct during and after the presidential election is a model for Africa’s democracy.
Issoufou, who stated this after a closed-door meeting with President Jonathan at Villa, Abuja, on Thursday, described the Jonathan’s gesture as an evidence of his statesmanship, maturity and humility.
The Nigerien leader, who spoke in French, said Jonathan’s conduct in the aftermath of the polls was also worthy of emulation by other African leaders.
“The visiting president said at the ECOWAS level, (President Jonathan) has made a lot of contributions.
“The most important he made perhaps is the contribution he made during the last elections.
“We all knew before the elections there was a lot of tension everywhere in Nigeria. We all know that election results are always contested in Africa.
“But, Mr President showed great maturity and statesmanship during the last elections.
“By conceding and calling to congratulate his challenger, is a great lesson to all African leaders.
“It is a good legacy Mr President is leaving behind for other countries to emulate. In fact, Mr President has set a good model of democracy for ECOWAS countries.’’
The Nigerien leader also expressed appreciation to Jonathan numerous contributions to the security, economy and infrastructural development of West Africa.
He said that having worked with Jonathan at bilateral and multilateral levels in the past four years, and seen how he conducted himself in office, it was no surprise that he made immense contributions before leaving office.
According to him, other heads of state are indeed pleased with Jonathan for this good leadership quality.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that since the conclusion of the presidential election, the Presidents of Chad, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, and Benin Republic had paid farewell visits to Jonathan.
The presidents all commended him for peacefully conceding victory to his main challenger and now president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.
