Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan has accused ousted Guinea Bissau leader Umaro Embalo of staging a false coup to stop the outcome of the country’s presidential election from being released.
He spoke with journalists in Abuja after returning from Guinea Bissau where he served as part of the West Africa Elders Forum Observation Mission that monitored Sunday’s polls.
Jonathan said the events unfolding in the country were not a genuine military takeover but an orchestrated plan by Embalo to frustrate democratic governance.
According to him, the electoral process was already moving toward a clear outcome before what he described as a deliberate plot disrupted the system.
He urged ECOWAS and the international community to compel authorities in Guinea Bissau to release the results and announce the legitimate winner.
“This was not a coup. It was a stage-managed move meant to block the election results and mislead the region,” Jonathan told reporters.
He maintained that the will of the people must not be suppressed, adding that West Africa cannot afford another political crisis caused by manipulation of democratic institutions.
