In an interview with the Rainbow Book Club, which trended on social media Saturday, Jonathan recounted the tense period during Yar’Adua’s prolonged illness.

Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has revealed that a high-ranking presidential aide deliberately blocked a letter from late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua that would have formally transferred power to him as acting president in 2010, plunging Nigeria into a constitutional crisis.

In an interview with the Rainbow Book Club, which trended on social media Saturday, Jonathan recounted the tense period during Yar’Adua’s prolonged illness.

 He disclosed that before Yar’Adua departed Nigeria for medical treatment abroad, he had prepared and signed a letter authorising Jonathan to assume presidential powers in his absence.

However, according to Jonathan, the aide who was responsible for delivering the letter to the National Assembly refused to do so, effectively leaving the country without a commander-in-chief for months.

He said he could function as Vice President—preside over meetings, approve memos—but he was not the Commander-in-Chief. 
Jonathan noted that the constitutional vacuum was dangerous, and it was entirely avoidable.

The stalemate led to widespread political uncertainty and public anxiety, eventually prompting the National Assembly to adopt the controversial “doctrine of necessity,” which empowered Jonathan to act as president without a formal transmission of power.

According to the former president, "There's always a balancing between North and South, Muslims and Christians. And Yar'Adua was a Northern Muslim, serving as president. He took over from a Southern Christian, Obasanjo, who ruled for eight years.

"Definitely the Northern Muslims wanted Yar'Adua to at least do eight years before power would return to the South, likely to another Christian. But his health issues came up and it was a problem. That’s why even allowing me to act as president became an issue.

"One year that Yar'Adua was going for the medical checkup. Actually, a letter was written. Of course, the constitution says that for the vice president to act, the president would send a letter to the Senate and the House of Rep informing them.

"That letter was written, but the person who the letter was handed over to, I will not mention the name to you now, was one of the aides of Yar'Adua, refused to submit the letter to the National Assembly. And Yar'Adua became so ill that he had no control of issues.

"So we had a country where the president was not available, and there was no acting president. Yes, as a vice president, you can take over the responsibilities of, some responsibilities of the president. You know the president of Nigeria has two main responsibilities."

He said, "First, you are the chief executive of the country, so like a prime minister of a country. That, the vice president can assume, you don't need any transfer. And I was doing that because we were having an executive council meeting, we were approving memos from ministers, so the government was going on.

He explained that there was no commander-in-chief. 

"What is the second responsibility of the president of Nigeria, besides being the executive head of the country? And there's nothing like acting commander-in-chief.

Either you're a commander-in-chief or not.
"But when you become an acting president, you are at the same time a commander-in-chief. So that was lacking, and no country allows that gap. A country like America, they don't allow that gap at all.
"If an American president wants to, even if it's a whitlow, that he requires an extension, that he will be off for five minutes, he will hand over to the vice president before that procedure. Immediately he regains consciousness, he takes over. But we stayed for some time.

"And that led to what they call the doctrine of necessity. When the National Assembly felt that the country was in a situation where it was not expected, they now have to initiate this doctrine of necessity. And they now made me to act as a president without a letter from Yar'Adua," Jonathan said. 

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua died in May 2010 after a prolonged illness, paving the way for then-Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to complete his term and later win the 2011 presidential election.