You Can Contest but Nigerians Won’t Forget Your Dismal Performance — Tinubu Presidency to Jonathan on 2027 Comeback

The 2027 presidential race took a dramatic turn on Sunday after former Minister of Information, Prof Jerry Gana, announced that former President Goodluck Jonathan would contest under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), sparking immediate reactions from the Bola Tinubu Presidency.

Former Minister of Information, Prof Jerry Gana, made the announcement after the PDP Congress in Minna, Niger State, declaring that Nigerians were demanding Jonathan’s return after experiencing successive administrations since he left office in 2015. Gana argued that the difference between Jonathan’s era and the years that followed had become evident, insisting that the former president was being called back to serve.

Jonathan, who peacefully handed over power to Muhammadu Buhari after losing the 2015 election, is seen by analysts as a figure whose re-entry could reshape the 2027 contest. His reputation for conceding defeat without conflict has also remained a defining feature of his political legacy.

But the Tinubu Presidency moved quickly to push back against the development. In a statement on Monday, presidential aide Bayo Onanuga said Jonathan was free to contest but warned that Nigerians would not forget his performance in office. Onanuga argued that Jonathan’s tenure was marked by poor economic management, frivolous spending, and a lack of direction, stressing that the ruling party would not allow the country to “be run down again.”

He accused politicians such as Gana of exploiting Jonathan for personal, political, religious, and ethnic interests, predicting they would abandon him as they did in 2015. While affirming that President Tinubu would welcome Jonathan into the race, Onanuga raised questions about his eligibility, pointing to constitutional restrictions on how many times a person can be sworn in as president.

That argument was echoed by human rights lawyer and former National Human Rights Commission chairman, Prof Chidi Odinkalu, who maintained that Jonathan’s 2027 ambition would likely collapse in court. Odinkalu cited Section 137(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution, which disqualifies anyone elected to the presidency in two previous elections. He argued that Jonathan’s assumption of office after Umaru Yar’Adua’s death in 2010, his election in 2011, and his candidacy in 2015 placed him within that restriction.