Jonathan: 2023 elections will come and go — Nigeria will remain united

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday, said Nigeria will not break up in 2023 but will still remain stable after the elections.

Jonathan spoke at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)’s Council of the WISE strategic retreat and planning workshop in Lagos.

“When elections are coming, there is always this fear that the country will implode. But you see that the country has remained stable,” he said.

“When I was in office… the 2015 elections, some people were sending words out of the country, but nothing happened at the end of the day. So 2023 will come and go and this country will remain.”

Jonathan expressed confidence in the ability of ECOWAS to surmount the challenges confronting the West African region.

He said similar crises had been experienced in the region and that he was confident the recent ones would also be addressed.

“I am confident we have the capacity to achieve our mandate,” Jonathan said.

“The tasks ahead of us may seem daunting given the current challenges in our sub-region but it is not insurmountable. I implore all of us to give the assignment her best shot.

“We will be seen to have done justice to this assignment if we succeed in catalysing processes towards institutionalising systems that will deepen democracy, people-oriented governance, and sustainable growths in our sub-region.”