The coast is becoming clearer that former President Goodluck Jonathan might contest the 2027 presidential election, following indications that he has given the party some conditionality, the Sunday Telegraph can report.
Bauchi State Governor and Chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Governors’ Forum, gave vent to this recently when he said the party would be excited to have the former President on the ticket in the next presidential elections.
The development is further fueled by Jonathan’s lamentation weekend at the 2025 edition of the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) Democracy Dialogue, held in Accra, Ghana, about the failure of democracy, adding that “where democracy fails to meet expectations, desperation can open the door to authoritarianism.
He said: “Democracy on the African continent is going through a period of strain and risk of collapse unless stakeholders come together to rethink and reform it. Electoral manipulation remains one of the biggest threats in Africa.”
A chieftain of the PDP told The Sunday Telegraph that Jonathan’s recent meeting with Peter Obi was part of the game as he wants the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election to return to the PDP, to enhance the party’s chances.
“I believe his recent meeting and discussion were around 2027. No one has been able to pinpoint the main gist. But we hear that something is brewing along that line,” another Source added.
He added that some key leaders of the PDP are among those urging and piling pressure on him to run, as they believe that only a southerner can upset the APC behemoth.
Another Source confided in the Sunday Telegraph that some key leaders of the PDP are among those urging and piling pressure on him to run. They believe that only a southerner can upset the APC behemoth.
Also, they believe that if they want to revive the PDP, they need to win the next election. They calculate that the PDP will lose the next general election at the centre, which may be the final death of the party.
Despite that, some other people are also telling the former president that if he wants to run, he should run as the candidate of the coalition that would involve the PDP with ADC, and others.
A PDP chieftain told Sunday Telegraph that Jonathan has given a condition under which he could contest, stating, “He wants us to resolve all issues and wrangling in the party before he makes his intention public.”
Those in the South-South believe that Jonathan should have been allowed a second term in 2015. By not doing that, they cheated their people. With the configuration they are looking at, they believe that Jonathan stands the best chance for now in the South-South if he runs, as they do not know when the opportunity will come up again.
For the North, the people pushing it are two-fold – Some people in the PDP believe that the opposition party cannot afford to lose the next election, losing it would sound its death knell. They are looking up to a candidate with a general form of acceptability in and around the country that will be able to stand against the behemoth called the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Some of his inner circles are saying that some of the conditions that the people are going to give are to give him a pan-Nigerian platform as the APC did in 2015. They are looking at a situation where Jonathan would not face any primaries. Some of the people close to Jonathan who have been contacted have given the condition that Jonathan would be a consensus candidate. They are also asking them to go and work on those who have left the PDP to come back into the fold. They are also asking them to ensure that those in the APC are also brought in.”
However, some other politicians who are close to Jonathan are trying to persuade him not to run unless he wants to go and disgrace himself, but he should continue to be the statesman that he is and continue to enjoy his life in retirement. “He is already building himself into a respected peacemaker on the continent. If he loses the presidency, it may jeopardize his rising profile as an international statesman.”
Former National Vice Chairman of the party in the South-West, Eddy Olafeso, said the party is committed to rebuilding itself to make it a winnable party, and if Jonathan is interested in contesting the 2027 election on its platform, he should be displaying strong support for the party by now.
An aide to Jonathan, however, who was with him in Ghana last week, said the former President has not indicated interest in the 2027 elections, adding that everything about his interest is mere speculation. “Has he spoken to anyone that he is contesting? Anyone who is vying for such a post will declare his interest, but recall that the same people who betrayed him in 2015 are the ones calling him to contest.”
Also, another source in Jonathan’s camp, who did not want his name mentioned, said that it is certain that Jonathan would not give in to their antics. He prefers to remain the international statesman he is and ambassador of peace on the continent.
