By Soni Daniel, Northern Region Editor, Clifford Ndujihe, Dapo Akinrefon, Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo & Luminous Jannamike

Nigeria’s former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, will be one of the leading candidates to confront incumbent President Bola Tinubu, in the 2027 presidential poll, a close ally of the Bayelsa-born politician confirmed to Vanguard yesterday.

The ally, who is also in the People Democratic Party, PDP, as Jonathan, told Vanguard that the plan to draft the former President to contest on PDP’s platform had gone far, and that he had accepted, adding that the former president was going into the race to find ways of addressing Nigeria’s rising poverty, hardship and the general suffering that had gripped the citizenry in recent years.

The source said the project to bring back Jonathan to reposition Nigeria was being driven by key Nigerian leaders and elders, who believed the former president stabilised the country and its economy within the six years of his administration.

The source said it was in a bid to rescue the country and restore the dwindling economy and Nigeria to its pride of place that key PDP leaders and elders started ‘pleading with him’ to consider running against Tinubu in 2027.

There are those who believe that giving him the opportunity to run for a single term of four years remained the clearest pathway for power to return to the north in 2031 and remain there for eight years without a serious struggle by the south.

Going by the fact that Jonathan had already served out a term of four years, he cannot run for more than another four years in office if he wins the election in 2027, just like Tinubu if he gets re-elected.

Meeting with northern leaders

Jonathan’s ally said the Otuoke-born politician had already met behind the scene with some top leaders within and outside the PDP to consult them and seek their support for the 2027 presidential race.

According to the politician, Jonathan met with former Nigerian military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, retd., last weekend in his Hilltop Mansion in Minna, Niger State, and briefed him on his desire to run for one term in 2027.

Although the source did not say what General IBB’s response to Jonathan was, he, however, expressed optimism that the idea had been properly sold to the north.

The official also disclosed that Jonathan was currently in the South-South consulting and meeting with critical stakeholders, with a view to selling the project to them and soliciting their unflinching support.

It was, however, not clear at press time who the GEJ team was meeting with in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Tuesday and yesterday but it is believed that his support base in the region would not be a problem to him.

PDP intensifies effort to woo Jonathan

Meanwhile, Vanguard gathered that the PDP is actively courting Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidential election under its platform.

Reliable sources informed the BBC Hausa Service monitored by our correspondent in Kaduna that the move, backed by top PDP figures, including some governors, was aimed at convincing Jonathan to return and lead the party’s charge against the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and President Tinubu.

While confirming the development, Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mallam Ibrahim Abdullahi, said the party’s move was in response to growing calls from Nigerians who now believe Jonathan’s past administration was under-appreciated.

“Many Nigerians have come to realise the mistake they made in not re-electing Dr. Jonathan. They now acknowledge his achievements and are even apologising, pleading with him to return and rescue the country,” Abdullahi said.

He added that since Jonathan remained a PDP member, the party saw no reason not to approach him. “He is a compassionate leader, and as a party that listens to Nigerians, we felt compelled to heed their call,” he added.

Sources also revealed that some high-ranking PDP stakeholders recently travelled to The Gambia to meet with the former president and persuaded him to accept the party’s ticket.

Jonathan gives conditions

According to Abdullahi, Jonathan has shown signs of interest and has begun laying down conditions, including clarity on whether he would participate in the primaries or be given the ticket outright, and whether the party genuinely recognises his capacity to lead.

“He has started listening to the emissaries and is consulting with his inner circle,” Abdullahi disclosed.

He may get automatic ticket

In an exclusive interview with Vanguard in Abuja yesterday, Daniel Woyengikuro, PDP’s National Financial Secretary, described Jonathan as the party’s national leader and a central figure in its strategy for zoning the presidency to the south.

“Is he not the best candidate for us at this moment? He is not just a former president; he is the leader of the party now. Aside from Obasanjo, the next person in line is him. Goodluck Jonathan is the national leader of this party,” Woyengikuro said.

He explained that the PDP was already consulting with Jonathan and engaging with his associates to encourage his return and deeper involvement in reshaping Nigeria’s political landscape.

“Nigeria has reached a point where we need to salvage this country. We need to salvage this country for our generation and for the generations ahead of us.

“The people who can do this, at least for now, are the leaders of the party, especially when we’re talking about the Southern presidency. Someone like Goodluck Jonathan is okay,” he added.

Asked whether the PDP would consider giving Jonathan an automatic ticket, Woyengikuro gave his full endorsement.

“For me, that’s what I firmly stand for. You can quote me anywhere: I want him to come. An automatic ticket for him, as it stands now. Because we must salvage both this party and the nation.

“If Goodluck finally accepts, you will see that the entire dynamics will change. The entire politics of 2027 will change,” he stated.

In addition to Jonathan, Woyengikuro praised Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, describing him as a dynamic leader capable of bridging generational gaps.

“We have Governor Seyi Makinde, a vibrant leader who is doing great things in Oyo. Now that we are talking about the Presidency remaining in the south, these are the two main individuals I stand for: Goodluck Jonathan and Seyi Makinde,” he said.

What the law says on Jonathan’s eligibility

Amid the push to get Jonathan to run, there is division in the polity on his eligibility, following a 2018 Constitutional amendment that bars those sworn-in twice in the past from running for presidency or governorship.

The sections of the Constitution that address the issue of presidents and governors being sworn in more than twice are Sections 137(3) and 182(3). These sections state that a person who was sworn in to complete the term of another person as President or Governor shall not be elected to such office for more than a single term

*Section 137(3) applies to the President and states: “A person, who was sworn in to complete the term for which another person was elected as President, shall not be elected to such office for more than a single term.”

*Section 182(3) applies to Governors and states: “A person, who was sworn in to complete the term for which another person was elected as Governor, shall not be elected to such office for more than a single term.”

These sections aim to prevent individuals from serving more than eight years in office, either as President or Governor, even if they assume the role due to the incumbent’s inability to serve.

The amendment, now referred to as the Fourth Alteration Act, became effective on June 8, 2018, when it was signed into law by then President Muhammadu Buhari.

Currently, lawyers are divided on the issue. While some are of the view that Jonathan could no longer contest any presidential election, having completed the unexpired term of the late President Umar Yar’Adua and concluded another term in 2015, others contended that the new provisions cannot be applied to Jonathan who started his tenure before the law took effect.

In 2022, when the matter came up, a Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State held that Jonathan could not be barred by the amendment. Then, there were rumours that the former president would run and some supporters had procured the APC’s N100 million nomination and expression of interest forms but he declined to contest.

The position of lawyers supporting Jonathan’s eligibility was upheld in a judgment delivered on May 27, 2022, by a Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State by Justice Isa Hamma Dashen on a suit, marked: FHC/YNG/CS/86/2022 filed by Andy Solomon and Idibiye Abraham (who claimed to be members of the APC).

Defendants in the suit were Jonathan, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Solomon and Abraham argued that by the provisions in Section 137(1)(b) and (3) of the constitution, Jonathan was no longer eligible to vie for the office of the president because he had taken an oath to that office on two previous occasions.

However, Justice Dashen held, among others, that Section 137(3) of the constitution did not bar Jonathan from contesting the 2023 presidential election because the provision could not be applied retroactively.

The judge held that the oath taken by Jonathan on May 6, 2010, after the death of President Yar’Adua, complied with a constitutional provision and not because he contested and won the election.

He noted that the 2007 general election produced the late Musa Yar’Adua as the President and not Jonathan, adding that Section 137(3) could not have a retroactive effect to stop him from contesting the 2023 presidential election.

The judge held that Section 137(3), which came into effect on June 8, 2018, “cannot apply retroactively, except the legislature, in clear terms, expressly stated their intention for it to be so.”

Lawyers divided over Jonathan’s eligibility

Meanwhile, senior lawyers in the country yesterday weighed in on the eligibility of former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidential election.

Their intervention followed a reported move by the PDP, to consider handing automatic ticket to the former President should he return to the party and become politically active again.

However, the said decision of the PDP threw up questions about Jonathan’s legal standing to vie for presidency again, in view of the fourth alteration to the 1999 Constitution, which forbade anyone from taking the presidential oath twice after election.

Reacting to the development, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr. Dayo Akinlaja, argued that former President Jonathan was not caught up by the said constitutional amendment.

According to him: “The relevant provisions on this vexed issue are both clear and unambiguous -Sections 137(3) and 182(3).

“They portend one term of office for any one who falls within the spectrum thereof.

“However, the provision of Section 137(3) cannot be applied to President Jonathan, who was sworn in and did a term under the old constitutional dispensation.

“It has to be borne in mind that Sections 182(3) and 137(3) were introduced in 2017 with a commencement date of 7th June, 2018.

“Thus, President Jonathan is still entitled to contest in my humble view. However, the provision of Section 182(3) would apply to bar a Deputy Governor sworn in to complete the term of a Governor after the commencement of the provision.

“So, such a Deputy turned Governor would be entitled to do no more than one term as a Governor.”

Laws not retroactive-Nnabuihe

While supporting Mr. Akinlaja’s position, another senior lawyer, Mr. Elekwachi Nnabuihe, argued that the constitutional amendment came after Jonathan had already for a second tenure and failed.

He argued that since the law does not have retroactive effect, the former President could not be stopped by the alteration to the 1999 Constitution.

He said: “Section 137(3) of the the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Fourth Alteration, No 26) Act, 2017 is very clear and unambiguous.

“For emphasis, its states that: ‘A person who was sworn in to complete the term for which another person was elected as President shall not be elected to such office for more than a single term.’

“However, section 137 (1) states that: ‘A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if – (b) he has been elected to such office at any two previous elections.’

“The catch word here is ‘elected’.

“It is not in dispute that President Jonathan spent about 13 months in office while completing the term of his predecessor, former President Umaru Yar’Adua.

“He subsequently contested for the election proper in 2011. In other words, going by section 137 (1) he has only been elected into the office once.

“Despite the ambiguity that was occasioned by the introduction of section 137 (3), it is elementary knowledge that laws do not have retroactive effect.

“The amendment came in 2017, while Jonathan already vied for a second term in 2015. If he was legally qualified to contest presidential election at that time, nothing forbids him from doing so again. The amendment will only apply should the Yar’Adua scenario present itself again.

“As it stands, I believe that former President Jonathan is not legally ineligible to participate in the 2027 presidential poll, if he so wishes.

“As for the incongruity that was occasioned by section 137 (3), it is left for the courts to decide on it.

“I believe that the intention of the lawmakers was to bar anyone drom staying in office for more than 8 years, cumulatively.”

Exceeding 8 years in power unconstitutional-JIDEOBI

However, a human rights lawyer, Mr. Johnmary Jideobi took a different position, insisting that should ex-President Jonathan contest the 2027 election and emerge victorious, it could pose a different legal challenge.

“If President Jonathan contests again and eventually wins in 2027, he will have exceeded the maximum number of eight years contemplated by the Constitution for any person to occupy the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“This is the fountain and foundation of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence explicated in the case of MARWA & Anor v. Nyako Ors (2012) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1296) 199 wherein the Supreme Court near exhaustively (in a consolidated appeal) dealt with the issue of tenure elongation by the some governors.

“This obviously raises a fundamental question of the eligibility of President Jonathan to put himself forward for an election into the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“It appears that the jurisprudential floodlight afforded by the referenced Supreme Court decision points in the direction of his ineligibility,” he added.

Jonathan eminently qualified — Bode George

Speaking on the issue, yesterday, former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George, said former President Jonathan was eminently qualified to run for office on the platform of the PDP.

George, in a chat with Vanguard, said the former President had a track record which would be salable to Nigerians.

He said: “He is very qualified because he did not leave the party. The more the merrier. All those who say they want to contest should wait till 2035. He is the easiest to sell because he has a track record, especially the economic indices Nigeria witnessed during his tenure.”

On whether having been sworn in twice would not knock Jonathan out of the race, George said: “It cannot because he was sworn in when Umar Yar’Adua died to continue his tenure, and it was because of the Doctrine of Necessity.

He did not contest any election; he was sworn in to complete Yar’Adua’s tenure, who died while in office.”