While supporters argue that Jonathan remains a stabilising figure in the nation’s democratic experience, constitutional lawyers have raised questions about his eligibility to contest.
Speculation over the possible return of former President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2027 elections has continued to stir debate across Nigeria’s political space.
While supporters argue that Jonathan remains a stabilising figure in the nation’s democratic experience, constitutional lawyers have raised questions about his eligibility to contest.
Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has joined those warning that any attempt by Jonathan to contest would collapse under judicial scrutiny.
In an opinion piece, Odinkalu made a case that the former president cannot legally or politically succeed with a 2027 presidential bid.
Odinkalu’s argument hinges on the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which places a limit on the number of times a person can be sworn in as president. He drew attention to Section 137(3), which directly affects Jonathan’s situation.
Electoral Commission (INEC) and will ask the courts to restrain INEC from recognizing him as a candidate in the election,” he said.
“The suit will slow walk its way to a decision. Then, suddenly, around the week before the vote, judgment will come down restraining the party from presenting GEJ as a candidate and restraining the INEC from having him on the ballot.
“Any serious threat to the incumbent’s ambitions will have been judicially squelched. The script is so easily authored, the ruling party must be licking its chops at the idea of a Jonathan candidacy. There can be no better political gift for the incumbent president and his ruling party.”
Jonathan’s Political Journey
Jonathan, who rose from deputy governor of Bayelsa State in 1999 to become Nigeria’s president in 2010 following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, served out the remainder of Yar’Adua’s tenure before winning election in 2011.
His defeat to Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 marked the first time an incumbent president lost power in Nigeria, a concession that earned him international respect.
That legacy, Odinkalu suggested, is what is now at stake.
Odinkalu said, “GEJ should know that those importuning him for a tilt at the presidency in 2027 are clutching at withered straws.
“The judicial landscape he left in 2015 is radically different from what he will confront should he choose to throw his hat into the ring 12 years later in 2027.”
THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT SAHARA REPORTERS