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No, Jonathan didn’t say ‘he would have annulled the 2015 election’

Nurudeen Akewushola
Nurudeen Akewushola
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File photo: Former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan

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A Facebook user, Noonooagu has posted a quote attributed to former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, claiming that he said he would have annulled the 2015 presidential election but chose not to because “history would not be kind” to him.

The post, published on 1 October 2026, reads:

“BREAKING: I would have annulled the 2015 election and nothing would’ve happened. But history would not be kind to me.

— EX President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan”

The post features a photograph of Jonathan and has attracted over 300 reposts and more than comments as of 8 October 2026.

CLAIM

Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan said he would have annulled the 2015 presidential election but refrained from doing so because history would not be kind to him.

FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.

There is no credible evidence that Jonathan made the statement in the viral post. Searches of reports about his reflections on the 2015 election found no credible source quoting him as saying that he would have “annulled” the election or that “nothing would’ve happened” if he had done so.

However, the viral quote appears to have been derived from comments Jonathan made while reflecting on the conduct of the 2015 election.

In February 2025, Jonathan spoke at the YIAGA Africa Reflection Conference on Democratic Elections in West Africa where he recalled problems with the biometric card readers used during the election.

Reports of his remarks show that Jonathan said the card reader had rejected him, his wife and his mother during the 2015 election. Pulse Nigeria reported that he described the experience while discussing electoral reforms.

A later report published in August 2025 quoted Jonathan as saying:

“In 2015, the INEC card reader rejected many voters in the South, including me and my wife, causing frustration. Meanwhile, in the North, instructions allowed everyone to vote without accreditation. So you really see something not quite right. I could have stopped the election.”

The remark that Jonathan “could have stopped the election” appears to be the basis for the claim circulating on social media. Naija News reported the comments in August 2025.

However, “I could have stopped the election” is different from saying “I would have annulled the 2015 election and nothing would’ve happened.” The latter wording is not supported by the available evidence.

Media reports also documented similar difficulties faced by Jonathan during the 2015 election. On 28 March 2015, Channels Television reported that several INEC card readers failed to accredit Jonathan and his wife at their polling unit in Otuoke, Bayelsa State, southern Nigeria. Jonathan subsequently urged Nigerians to remain patient, expressing confidence that INEC would resolve the issues.

Jonathan also ultimately conceded defeat to Muhammadu Buhari. In 2016, The Guardian reported that Jonathan said he conceded because he believed no Nigerian life was worth his political ambition.

Therefore, while Jonathan has said that he could have stopped the 2015 election because of problems surrounding the card-reader system, the viral post changes that remark into a claim that he would have annulled the election and that “nothing would’ve happened.”

A review of Jonathan’s comments in credible media reports and his social media accounts did not show that he made such remarks after the election.

VERDICT

The claim that former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan said he “would have annulled the 2015 election and nothing would’ve happened” is FALSE. Jonathan did say in a later reflection that he “could have stopped the election” because of problems with INEC’s card readers, but there is no credible evidence that he made the viral statement about annulling the election or that “history would not be kind” to him.

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Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.

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