2027: Presidency speaks on Jonathan contesting against Tinubu
The Presidency has said former President Goodluck Jonathan is free to contest the 2027 presidential election if he wishes, but maintained that Nigerians will not overlook what it described as his “dismal record” in office.
This was contained in a statement issued on Monday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, in reaction to comments by former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, who reportedly endorsed Jonathan’s possible return on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Onanuga criticised Gana’s position, describing it as “absurd” and warning that Jonathan risked being misled again by “sugar-coated cheerleaders” within the PDP, who, he said, used and abandoned him during the 2015 elections.
“President Jonathan reserves the right to run if he wishes. It is his inalienable right to contest the presidency again,” the statement read.
“But Jonathan will have his date in the court of the land. Indeed, the jury will determine whether Jonathan, who was sworn in twice as president, satisfies the constitutional requirements and is eligible to contest the presidency and be sworn in, if successful, for a third term in office.”
The Presidency, however, insisted that Jonathan’s administration left behind a trail of economic mismanagement. It alleged that despite inheriting $66 billion in 2010 — comprising $46 billion in foreign reserves and $20 billion in the Excess Crude Account — the reserves fell below $30 billion by 2015, while the ECA was depleted to $2 billion.
It further accused Jonathan’s government of wasteful spending, unpaid salaries in several states by 2014, and widespread corruption, including the diversion of security funds and forex racketeering in the oil sector.
In contrast, Onanuga pointed to Tinubu’s record in office, citing the removal of fuel subsidy, the unification of exchange rates, stabilisation of the naira, renewed investor confidence and progress in infrastructure projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Highway.
According to him, GDP growth reached 4.23 per cent in Q2 2025, inflation fell to 20.12 per cent in August 2025, while foreign reserves rose to $42.03 billion.
“The nation has turned the corner. And our people have started reaping the gains of the bold reforms instituted by the Tinubu administration,” Onanuga stated. “The PDP and Jerry Gana’s co-travellers broke the economy; President Tinubu is fixing it. Nigerians, who still remember the past, will not allow them to return and run it down again.”
