Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, BNER, GCON (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who has been President of Nigeria since 2010. Prior to his role as President, he served as Governor of Bayelsa State from 2005 to 2007 and as Vice-President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Early and personal life

Jonathan was born in what is now Bayelsa State to a family of canoe makers. Jonathan holds a B.Sc. degree in Zoology in which he attained Second Class Honours. He holds an M.Sc. degree in Hydrobiology and Fisheries biology, and a PhD degree in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt. Before he entered politics in 1998, he worked as an education inspector, lecturer, and environmental-protection officer.

Jonathan and his wife Patience have two children. He is a Christian, and he comes from the Ijaw ethnic group.

Presidency

Order of succession

In accordance with the order of succession in the Nigerian constitution following President Umaru Yar'Adua's death on 5 May 2010, Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 6 May 2010, becoming Nigeria's 14th Head of State. He cited anti-corruption, power and electoral reforms as focuses of his administration. He stated that he came to office under "very sad and unusual circumstances".

On 18 May 2010, the National Assembly approved Jonathan's nomination of former Kaduna State governor, Namadi Sambo, for the position of Vice-President.

2011 presidential campaign and elections

On 15 September 2010, Jonathan announced on Facebook that he had decided to run for his first ever political election to hold public office as President of Nigeria in 2011.

In the contest for the Peoples Democratic Party nomination, Goodluck Jonathan was up against the former vice-president Atiku Abubakar and Mrs. Sarah Jubril. On 13 January 2011 the primary election results were announced in Eagle Square, Abuja with victory in two-thirds of the states of the federation counted and Jonathan was declared winner.

For the general election in 2011, Jonathan and Vice-President Sambo attended political events and travelled the country to campaign for the nation's highest office. Jonathan won the general election against General Muhammadu Buhari and Nuhu Ribadu with 59% of the votes. On 18 April, Jonathan was declared the winner of the election.

Major initiatives - Roadmap for Power Sector Reform

On 2 August 2010 Jonathan launched his 'Roadmap for Power Sector Reform‘. Its primary goal was to achieve stable electricity in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Power Sector has been historically plagued by blackouts. Economists estimate that the power outages cost Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy, billions of dollars on imported diesel for generators and in lost output. Jonathan has been overseeing the privatisation of his country's power sector, the end goal being an efficient and reliable power supply for the Nigerian population. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria, which acted as the state electricity provider, has been broken up into 15 firms, with Nigeria handing over control of state electricity assets to 15 private bidding companies. The Nigerian government contracted the services of CPCS Transcom Limited, a Canada-based consulting firm specialising in transportation and energy infrastructure projects, to act as the transaction adviser for the handover of state electricity assets.

Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria

On 11 October 2011, President Jonathan launched the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOUWIN) Initiative which he stated was an innovative business plan competition that harnesses the creative energies of young people between the ages of 18 and 35. The YOUWIN Initiative is expected to create between 40,000 to 50,000 sustainable jobs by 2014.

Transformation Agenda

In 2011, President Jonathan launched the Transformation Agenda. The Transformation Agenda is based on a summary of how the Federal Government hopes to deliver projects, programmes, and key priority policies, from 2011 to 2015 coordinated by the National Planning Commission (NPC).

On 11 September 2013, President Jonathan sacked the creator and coordinator of the Transformation Agenda, Shamsudeen Usman, the Minister of National Planning. He was sacked along with eight other cabinet ministers amid a rift in the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Foreign policy

According to President Jonathan, Nigeria's foreign policy was reviewed to reflect a “citizen-focused” foreign policy designed to “accord this vision of defending the dignity of humanity the highest priority" and connect foreign policy to domestic policy while placing a greater emphasis on economic diplomacy.

Acting president

On 9 February 2010, a motion from the Nigerian Senate confirmed the powers to Goodluck Johnathan to act as President of the federation because President Yar'Adua went for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia in November 2009. On 10 February 2010, during his first day as acting president, Jonathan announced a minor cabinet reshuffle. Prince Adetokunbo Kayode who was the Labour Minister, was named Minister of Justice, to replace Mr Mike Aondoakaa. Aondoakaa was named as the Minister of Special Duties, and his counterpart Ibrahim Kazaure, was named Minister of Labour.

Acting President Jonathan also promised to continue implementing the Seven-point agenda policy framework of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua.

Vice-presidency

As Vice-President, Jonathan took on a very low profile while recognising the constitutional limits of the Vice-President office, he participated in cabinet meetings and, by statute, membership in the National Security Council, the National Defence Council, Federal Executive Council, and the Chairman of National Economic Council.

Vice-President Jonathan was instrumental in negotiating an agreement with many of the major militant groups in the Niger Delta, who were mostly his fellow Ijaws, to lay down their weapons and stop fighting as part of a government amnesty.

Governor of Bayelsa

On 9 December 2005, Jonathan, who was Deputy Governor at the time, was sworn in as Governor of Bayelsa State upon the impeachment of the current Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha by the Bayelsa State Assembly after being charged with money laundering in the United Kingdom. In September 2006, Jonathan was marred by the indictment of his wife by the nation's anti-crime agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for crimes related to money laundering.

Deputy Governor of Bayelsa

On 29 May 1999, Jonathan was sworn in as Deputy Governor of Bayelsa alongside Diepreye Alamieyeseigha who was sworn in as the governor of the state on the platform of PDP. Jonathan served as Deputy Governor until December 2005.

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