By Peter Dansu Ahead of the 2027 presidential election, allies of former President Goodluck Jonathan and top figures in the Peoples Democr...
By Peter Dansu
Ahead of the 2027 presidential election, allies of former President Goodluck Jonathan and top figures in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have begun moves to persuade Labour Party’s 2023 flagbearer, Mr. Peter Obi, to step aside for Jonathan in a possible comeback bid.
With the All Progressives Congress (APC) already backing President Bola Tinubu for re-election and the PDP zoning its ticket to the South, the next presidential race is expected to be a Southern showdown.
For weeks, prominent PDP leaders, especially from the North, have been mounting pressure on Jonathan to join the contest. At the same time, party chieftains have been lobbying Obi to return to the PDP, despite his growing influence in opposition coalitions.
Obi, who left the PDP in 2022 to contest under the Labour Party, has continued to push for a grand alliance of opposition forces against the APC. He is also seen as a key player in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition that includes former Rivers governor Rotimi Amaechi, former Senate President David Mark, ex-Osun governor Rauf Aregbesola, and former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai.
Insiders confirmed yesterday that Jonathan’s camp has opened talks with Obi, asking him to step down for the former president. Though there were speculations of a private meeting between Jonathan and Obi, sources close to the former Anambra governor denied it, insisting Obi remains committed to his political cause.
Jonathan’s backers argue that he is the strongest Southern candidate to challenge Tinubu, stressing that, if elected, he can only serve one term due to constitutional limits—thereby sustaining the North-South power rotation arrangement. Obi had similarly declared that he would serve just one term if elected, but critics argue that only Jonathan’s situation legally guarantees a single term.
Meanwhile, Jonathan’s possible return has rekindled the long-standing eligibility debate. Following a 2018 constitutional amendment signed by then-President Muhammadu Buhari, anyone sworn in twice as president is barred from contesting again. Jonathan, who completed the term of the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010 and won his own mandate in 2011, has been sworn in twice.
Legal experts remain divided on whether the amendment affects him retroactively. Supporters say he is still eligible since the law came into effect years after he left office, while opponents argue the PDP risks losing in court if it fields him.
Analysts warn that the matter could drag into litigation if Jonathan is presented as the PDP candidate, leaving the party vulnerable if the courts eventually rule against him.
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