The Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum has faulted fresh agitations within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) urging former President Goodluck Jonathan to join the 2027 presidential race, describing the push as “lawless, confusing and constitutionally untenable.”
The South-West socio-political group warned that such a move would not only deepen PDP’s internal crisis but also expose the party to legal disputes that could jeopardise its chances at the polls.
President of the Forum, Akin Malaolu, who spoke in Lagos yesterday, expressed shock that Jonathan was being positioned as a possible flagbearer, despite constitutional provisions limiting presidential tenure.
Malaolu recalled that Jonathan, who first completed the tenure of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010 before winning election in 2011, had already reached the constitutional threshold of holding office.
He argued that Jonathan’s assumption of office in 2010, though not through the ballot, made him a substantive President. “Any arrangement to return him as candidate will not stand in law. If PDP proceeds on this unconstitutional path, we shall not hesitate to mobilise legal action,” Malaolu warned.
In a similar vein, two lawyers, Kolawole Esan and Yomi Ogunlola, alongside a scholar, Prof. Labode Popoola, faulted calls for Jonathan’s return, pointing to the constitutional bar created by his two previous oaths of office. Popoola, however, cautioned against focusing merely on eligibility, urging Nigerians to weigh Jonathan’s capacity to sustain current national policies.
But in a sharp rebuttal, Jonathan dismissed concerns raised by the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo (SAN), and legal scholar, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, over his speculated ambition.
In a statement issued yesterday by his brother, Azibaola Robert, the former President said he needed no unsolicited advice, insisting that his eligibility was not in doubt. “Those who are not part of my political decisions should steer clear,” Jonathan cautioned.
The fresh debate adds another layer to the uncertainties trailing PDP’s preparations ahead of 2027, with the opposition party yet to resolve internal divisions that followed its loss in the 2023 general elections.
