A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) backed by Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has announced former President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s sole presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
A member of the faction’s presidential screening committee, Babangida Aliyu, made the announcement on Tuesday during the screening exercise for aspirants in Abuja.
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Mr Aliyu, a former governor of Niger State, said the former president was granted a waiver from appearing before the screening committee because of his previous experience in public office, which, according to him, automatically qualified him for the election.
“The party had already given our presidential aspirant the waiver. Like I said in the beginning, he was deputy governor, became governor, became vice president, became president, so we didn’t see anything that needed screening, and therefore the party had given him a waiver. In other words, he had been declared and cleared as the candidate of the PDP for the presidential election, and that is President Jonathan.”
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Mr Jonathan served as Nigeria’s president between 2010 and 2015 on the platform of the PDP. He had served as deputy governor and later governor of Bayelsa State after the impeachment of former Governor Diepreye Alameiseigha. He became vice president in 2007 in the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Mr Jonathan assumed office as acting president in 2010 following the prolonged illness of Mr Yar’Adua and was later sworn in as substantive president after the latter’s death in May 2010. He subsequently won the 2011 presidential election under the PDP.
However, he lost his re-election bid in 2015 to Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) due to public dissatisfaction over insecurity, corruption allegations, and economic concerns. His defeat marked the first time an incumbent president would lose a presidential election in Nigeria.
Mr Jonathan was widely commended both locally and internationally after conceding defeat and peacefully handing over power to the opposition.
Since leaving office, Mr Jonathan has largely positioned himself as an international statesman, leading election observation missions and mediation efforts across Africa. Nonetheless, several political groups and supporters have repeatedly urged him to return to active politics and contest the presidency again, especially in the build-up to the 2023 elections and now the 2027 elections.
Some groups had argued that Mr Jonathan remains one of the few Nigerian leaders with national appeal and international acceptance, while others have advised him to stay away from partisan politics to preserve his elder statesman image and legacy.
The emergence of Mr Jonathan as the sole presidential candidate of the Makinde-backed PDP faction has also renewed attention on the role of the faction’s interim national chairman, Kabiru Turaki, who served as minister during the Jonathan administration and is widely considered a loyalist of the former president.
Mr Jonathan has yet to comment on the development publicly or formally declare an interest in the election. However, political observers believe the former president may have been using consultations and engagements to test his political acceptability nationwide before making a final decision on his future political ambitions.
Meanwhile, Mr Makinde, who will be rounding off his second term, had last week declared his plan to run for president on the ticket of the PDP-APM alliance.
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Other governorship aspirants
Governorship aspirants aligned with the faction were also screened in Abuja. One of the aspirants, Taofeek Arapaja, who is contesting the Oyo State governorship election, was granted a waiver from the screening exercise.
Mr Arapaja is the secretary of the Interim National Working Committee constituted by the faction earlier this month.
Other governorship aspirants screened by the committee include Myebangara Andrew from Adamawa State, Ikenya Danlami (Taraba), Etanabene Benedict (Delta) and Abdullahi Sheriff (Yobe).
Biggs Garba (Plateau), Mohammed Kabir (Kano), Ibrahim Jafaru (Nasarawa), Usan David (Taraba), Abdullahi Manga (Kebbi) and Coffie Emem (Akwa Ibom) were also screened
Mr Aliyu assured that the faction would participate in the 2027 general elections.
“We are very happy that even those who have attempted to kill the party cannot succeed, and the party will contest this election by the grace of God and by the constitution of Nigeria,” he stated.
