Reports that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) encouraged former President Goodluck Jonathan to run for president in 2027 on the party’s platform have been refuted.
In an interview with BBC Hausa, the party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, refuted the rumours, stating that Jonathan was not given the party’s presidential ticket.
He denied rumours that the PDP had offered the former president a chance to run for president in 2027 or had given him the party’s presidential ticket.
This is what transpired: I spoke with a journalist on a few topics during our interview. “But during the interview, he brought up President Jonathan and enquired about our thoughts on him, as there are rumours that he is being pressured to run for president,” Abdullahi clarified.
He added that in his response, he stated that Jonathan, who is a Nigerian, is qualified to run for office because he is entitled to do so under the law and has one more term remaining.
According to Abdullahi, since Jonathan is legally eligible to run for president, there is nothing improper with him doing so.
He went on to say that the PDP had done enough for Jonathan and that the party would never court him as a member.
The deputy spokesman for the PDP went on to say that the party leadership has not yet spoken with Jonathan about the matter, pointing out that the party’s program allows 12 governors and numerous other well-known politicians to run for president.
He noted that Jonathan’s wife, Dame Patience, had recently stated that nothing would force her husband to run for president, emphasising that he didn’t leave anything in the Presidential Villa that would lead people to believe he would return to seek for office.
