Otedola Reveals How Jonathan Took YarAdua Seat During Leadership Crisis

In November 2009, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan declined to take on presidential powers after President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua left the country for medical treatment without formally handing over authority.

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For months, the nation faced a dangerous power vacuum, with fears growing that instability could lead to a military takeover.

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The deadlock ended on February 9, 2010, when the National Assembly applied the Doctrine of Necessity to name Jonathan acting president. The next day, during the Federal Executive Council meeting, Jonathan surprised Nigerians by sitting in the president’s chair for the first time, a move that symbolically confirmed his authority.

Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola, a close associate of Jonathan at the time, has now shared the full story in his forthcoming book Making It Big: Lessons from A Life in Business, set for release on August 18, 2025. Otedola recalls that before the National Assembly’s decision, Jonathan had been reluctant to carry out presidential duties, citing legal advice warning of possible impeachment without official transfer of power.

Otedola writes that in early February 2010, while in Minna to condole with former military leader Ibrahim Babangida over the loss of his wife, he raised concerns about the leadership crisis. Babangida reportedly advised him to tell Jonathan to sit in Yar’Adua’s chair at the next council meeting. Otedola says he delivered the message to Jonathan the same day, urging him to follow the advice.

After the National Assembly’s resolution, Jonathan entered the council chambers for the weekly meeting. As the protocol officer pulled out the vice president’s chair, he walked past it and took the president’s seat instead. That simple act, Otedola notes, was the point at which Jonathan truly assumed the role of leader, sending a clear message to the nation that he was now in control.