Jonathan asks Nigerians to forgive his mistakes
Jonathan lost the March 28 presidential race to Muhammadu Buhari
By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS
Outgoing Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday asked his countrymen to forgive whatever mistakes he might have made during his tenure as vice president, acting president and then president.
"I want Nigerians to forgive me in whatever ways I might have offended them, because I only took decisions in the best interest of the country," Jonathan said at a special service held for him at the Aso Villa, the seat of the presidency in capital Abuja.
He said whatever errors he committed in office were not "deliberate."
"There are times one would take a decision in the best interest of all but even friends would misunderstand the situation," added Jonathan.
Jonathan was first elected in 2007 as vice president in a joint ticket with late President Umaru Yar'Adua.
He became Acting President in 2010 following the illness of Yar'Adua.
On May 6, 2010, Jonathan was sworn in as substantive president after Yar'Adua's death.
He contested and won presidential election in 2011 under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, which ruled Nigeria since 1999.
But Jonathan lost the March 28 presidential race to opposition presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari.
He has made history as the first democratically elected president from his oil-rich south region; the first Nigerian to be elected vice president and president; and the first incumbent president to lose elections to an opposition candidate.
