2027: Northern opposition ramps up pressure on Jonathan, but he remains silent.

Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan is under increasing pressure to run for president in 2027.

There is a lot of pressure on the ex-president to announce his intention to challenge President Bola Tinubu, particularly from the northern opposition.

For over five years, Jonathan presided over Nigeria as president.
After Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s death in May 2010, the former governor of Bayelsa State became president by coincidence.

Up until his passing in May of 2010, Yar’Adua presided over Nigeria as president.

He took the oath of office on May 29, 2007, after winning the presidency of Nigeria in an election that took place on April 21, 2007.

To become the fourteenth chief executive and fourth head of state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Jonathan was sworn in on Thursday, May 6, 2010.

Jonathan ran for president after Yar’Adua finished his term in office and won in 2011, but he lost his reelection bid in 2015 to a combination of parties led by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

There was a lot of backlash to Jonathan’s ascension to the presidency in 2015 due to the fact that he was sworn in three times.

No Nigerian president may be sworn in three times, according to XANDERTECH, who also reported that several Northern youths had urged Jonathan to shelve his ambitions for a second term.

The young people, who were organised by the Arewa Youths Forum (AYF), claimed that the former president had sworn in twice.

When differing opinions on his eligibility for the 2023 presidential election circulated, the question resurfaced in 2023.

But in a ruling handed down on May 27, 2022, by a Federal High Court in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State, Jonathan was exempted from running for president in 2023.

As speculation swirled that he might enter the race, this occurred just hours before the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary polls.

At that point, rumours circulated that a Fulani organisation had bought N100 million worth of campaign materials on the former president’s behalf, tying him with the presidential campaign of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Jonathan was allowed to run for the highest political post in the country, even though he lost the 2015 election to President Muhammadu Buhari, according to the court.

The judgment’s presiding judge, Justice Isa Hamma Dashen, also ruled that no retroactive legislation can prohibit Jonathan from running for president in 2023.

The plaintiffs, Andy Solomon and Idibiye Abraham, sought a declaration from the court that Jonathan is unaffected by the fourth amendment to the constitution that prohibits vice presidents from serving more than one full term after their principals’ deaths.

Before Justice Isa Dashen was the case designated FHC/YNG/CS/86/2022, which named the Independent National Electoral Commission, Jonathan, and the APC as defendants.

Despite rumours that then-President Muhammadu Buhari was trying to pay the politician from Bayelsa for giving up power to him in 2015, Jonathan stayed out of the 2023 presidential race.

The ex-president seems to be facing mounting pressure to join the race for 2027 now that political conversations have started in full swing.

The most of the pressure appears to be emanating from the north, as it did in 2023.

Since there is no provision in the constitution for a second term of office, Jonathan’s presidency would be in the north’s best interest because of the gentleman’s agreement between the north and the south.

Reports indicate that the former president will be among the top contenders to challenge President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, even though he has not officially announced his intention to run.

Some media outlets have reported that he has already accepted the invitation to run on the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) platform, and he is reportedly getting ready to do so.

While neither Jonathan nor the PDP have officially announced nor confirmed his intentions to run for president in 2027, several Nigerians and political watchers have recently voiced differing opinions on the subject.

Shehu Sani, a former lawmaker, who represented Kaduna Central Senatorial District, in a recent interview on Channels Television, gave reasons Jonathan should not contest the forthcoming 2027 presidential election.

According to Sani, Jonathan’s 2011 winning party, the PDP, has changed drastically.

He advised the ex-president to jettison the idea of running for president come 2027.

Also, Dele Farotimi, a frontline lawyer, said that some politicians are trying hard to rebrand Jonathan, who was voted out of office by Nigerians in 2015 for valid reasons.

He pointed out that there were good reasons Nigerians decided to vote Jonathan out in 2015 which they believed was the solution to the country’s problems, but ended up in a worse situation

For a human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, Jonathan is not interested in contesting the 2027 presidential election.

Meanwhile, when asked by XANDERTECH if the PDP was ready to receive Jonathan’s ambition with open arms and hand him the party’s sole presidential ticket, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said the matter was still speculative.

But in a telephone interview with XANDERTECH, Dr Adetokunbo Pearse, a Lagos PDP chieftain and former member, Atiku Abubakar 2023 presidential campaign council, said he does not expect someone like Goodluck Jonathan to get the nod of the PDP even if he shows interest to run in the election.

Pearse, a former PDP national chairmanship aspirant and gubernatorial candidate in Lagos State, said Goodluck Jonathan, a full member of PDP, was more than welcome to come and run if he wants to, especially as the party has zoned the presidency to the South.

However, he noted that Jonathan has not been an active member of the party, doesn’t fund the party and shows no moral support.

He pointed out that Jonathan’s candidacy could lead to litigation, a risk the PDP is not ready to take.

“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.”