2027: Why Jonathan Shouldn’t Contest – Shehu Sani

Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has cautioned ex-President Goodluck Jonathan against making a political comeback in the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Sani said Jonathan retains a constitutional right to contest for one more four-year term but argued that the political environment—particularly within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—no longer favours him.

“Each time an election approaches, Jonathan’s name resurfaces. But I advise him not to contest,” Sani said. “The PDP he once knew is no longer the same. The South-West wing of the party has endorsed the sitting president, while other members are now part of a coalition. It would simply be a waste of his time.”

Jonathan, who served as vice president under Umaru Musa Yar’Adua before assuming office after Yar’Adua’s death in 2010, was Nigeria’s president until 2015. He lost his re-election bid that year to Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Although Jonathan has shown no public interest in a comeback, his name has been repeatedly mentioned in political discussions, particularly in light of debates around zoning, a one-term Southern presidency, and the new opposition coalition recently floated by the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Sani, however, dismissed the strength of the coalition, saying its members do not differ significantly from President Bola Tinubu’s political ideology.

“In a democracy, the opposition is expected to provide an alternative. But if the only goal is to remove Tinubu without presenting a new vision for governance, then they have no agenda,” he argued.

He added that the coalition lacks clear ideological distinctions: “The people constituting it are not different in philosophy from Tinubu’s programmes. We don’t see a divide like Marxists versus Capitalists. They share the same liberal economic values, including subsidy removal and devaluation policies.”

For now, Jonathan has remained silent on the matter, leaving speculation about his possible role in the 2027 election to swirl within political circles.