2027: Jonathan keeps mum as northern opposition intensifies pressure

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There is increasing pressure on former President Goodluck Jonathan to run for president in 2027.

There is pressure on the former president to declare his interest in running against President Bola Tinubu, particularly from the opposition in the north.

Jonathan presided over Nigeria for around five years.

The death of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in May 2010 coincided with the former governor of Bayelsa State becoming president by accident.

Yar’Adua presided over Nigeria as president from 2007 till his passing in May 2010.

He was sworn in on May 29, 2007, after winning the Nigerian presidential election on April 21, 2007.

Jonathan took the oath of office as the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s fourth executive president and fourteenth head of state on Thursday, May 6, 2010.

Following his term as Yar’Adua’s successor, Jonathan ran for president and won in 2011, but in 2015, he lost to the coalition of political parties led by the All Progressives Congress, APC.

There was a contentious discussion in 2015 regarding someone being sworn in three times as Nigeria’s president because some factions were against Jonathan’s election.

According to the ZINGTIE, several young people from the North urged Jonathan to abandon his plans for a second term, stating that no Nigerian president could be sworn in three times.

The youngsters claimed that the former president had taken the oath of office twice under the auspices of the Arewa youngsters Forum, AYF.

When varying opinions over his eligibility for the 2023 presidential race circulated, the debate resurfaced.

But in a ruling issued on Friday, May 27, 2022, a Federal High Court in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State, authorized Jonathan to run for president in 2023.

As there was expectation that he would enter the race, this occurred just hours before the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary polls.

After a Fulani faction reportedly bought N100 million on his behalf, the former president was subsequently associated with the All Progressives Congress, or APC, presidential campaign.

The court ruled that Jonathan could still run for the nation’s top political position even if he lost the 2015 election to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Justice Isa Hamma Dashen, the presiding judge who rendered the decision, also ruled that no legislation could prevent Jonathan from running for president in 2023.

Andy Solomon and Idibiye Abraham filed an originating summons asking the court to rule that Jonathan is exempt from the fourth amendment to the constitution, which prohibits vice presidents who replace their principals from holding office for more than one full term.

In the lawsuit filed before Justice Isa Dashen under the case number FHC/YNG/CS/86/2022, the Independent National Electoral Commission, Jonathan, and the APC were named as defendants.

Nevertheless, despite allegations that then-President Muhammadu Buhari sought to reimburse the Bayelsa-born politician for ceding power to him in 2015, Jonathan decided not run for president in the 2023 election.

And now that serious political talks have begun for 2027, the former president seems to be feeling pressured to run.

As in 2023, the North appears to be the primary source of pressure.

According to the gentleman’s agreement between the north and the south, Jonathan’s presidency would benefit the north because, per the constitution, he would only be able to serve one term in office.

Those close to the former president have stated that he will be among the front-runners to challenge President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, despite the fact that he has not publicly announced his intention to run.

According to certain media outlets, he has already accepted, and he is reportedly preparing to run on the People Democratic Party’s (PDP) platform.

In the meantime, various Nigerians and political analysts have recently expressed differing opinions about Jonathan, whose possible run for president in 2027 is still up in the air due to the lack of formal declarations or confirmations from him or the PDP.

In a recent interview on Channels Television, former lawmaker Shehu Sani, who served in the Kaduna Central Senatorial District, provided arguments against Jonathan running for president in 2027.

The PDP, which Jonathan exploited to win the 2011 election, is no longer the same, according to Sani.

He counseled the former president to abandon his plans to run for president in 2027.

Additionally, frontline attorney Dele Farotimi stated that some politicians are making a concerted effort to rebrand Jonathan, who was legitimately ousted from office by Nigerians in 2015.

He emphasized that there were valid reasons why Nigerians voted Jonathan out in 2015, thinking that this would solve the nation’s issues, but instead found themselves in a worse predicament.

According to human rights attorney Deji Adeyanju, Jonathan has no intention of running for president in 2027.

PDP National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba responded that the issue was still speculative when ZINGTIE questioned if the party was prepared to embrace Jonathan’s ambition and offer him the party’s only presidential ticket.

However, in a phone interview with ZINGTIE, Dr. Adetokunbo Pearse, a Lagos PDP chieftain and former member of the Atiku Abubakar 2023 presidential campaign committee, stated that even if Goodluck Jonathan expresses interest in running for office, he does not anticipate receiving the PDP’s endorsement.

Goodluck Jonathan, a full member of the PDP, is more than welcome to join and run if he so desires, according to Pearse, a former PDP national chairmanship candidate and Lagos State gubernatorial candidate. This is especially true given that the party has zoned the presidency to the South.

He did point out, though, that Jonathan hasn’t been involved with the party, doesn’t contribute to it, and doesn’t offer any moral support.

He emphasized that the PDP is not prepared to assume the danger of litigation that Jonathan’s candidacy may bring.

“He’s not just coming to PDP. Jonathan is a member of PDP. He has not been very active; nonetheless, he’s a full member of the party.

“So as a member of the party, and since the party has zoned the presidency to the south, he’s more than welcome to come and run if he wants to run.

“My suspicion, though, is two things. Number one, he has been away from the party. He has not been involved, he has not been helpful, he has not been encouraging.

“He has not been funding the party, no moral support for about five years now. Therefore, I don’t see how he could get the nomination, because where will he get the delegates, so that’s the problem.

“So if he wants to run, I don’t think he will win the primaries. And by the way, we don’t give tickets to anybody. We support whoever wants to run, and then they go and look for delegates. If they win the primaries with more delegates, then they become the nominee.

“Secondly, I don’t think it is in the best interest of the PDP to even field a person like Jonathan, because there is this question of whether or not he’s even legally qualified to run after being sworn in twice.

“Some people, some legal reading says, yes, you can run. Others, they cannot run. When you have such doubt. Don’t you think it is best for a party not to field him at all, not to support him? You see my point. I think he’s disqualified because court cases will come up. That is too risky. That is the point.

“We have people in the party who are running. The Governor of Oyo state has stated it clearly and he stands a good chance of winning the ticket.

“If he wins the ticket, I assure you he will defeat Tinubu in 2027. So what is this whole cry about Jonathan? I don’t understand what is going on in this country. Some people are calling Jonathan, others are calling for Tinubu, Atiku and all these old expired people.

“Why don’t we even support a new generation of leaders. By 2027, Makinde will be, I think, 59 years old. That’s what we need now. He has been tried in Oyo state, and he has performed extremely well, therefore, we don’t have a problem of who becomes the PDP candidate.

“But if Jonathan is to come, I just told you, my opinion, if he comes, I doubt he would be able to put together a number of delegates to defeat Makinde in the primaries.

“Secondly, it is not in the interest of PDP to field somebody who may become subject of litigation in the future.”

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