Rumours had been flying for months that the faceless 'Aso Rock cabal' had asked Mr Jonathan to run for the APC flag. The rumour seemed far-fetched, until penultimate Friday
It is 301 days to the next Nigerian presidential election, and a month to the deadline for the nomination of candidates, but the most animated discussion in the country in the last few weeks has been whether the only president to lose reelection in the country can try again – on the ticket of the party that defeated him! Adding to the curiosity is the small matter that former President Goodluck Jonathan is not even a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress .
But not everyone in the ruling party finds the prospect of awarding Mr Jonathan their party’s presidential ticket appealing. On Monday, a group,, accused Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State of leading the plot to impose Mr Jonathan on the APC. Mr Falana said: “It has been confirmed that former president Goodluck Jonathan has decided to join the APC for the purpose of contesting the 2023 presidential election. However, the former president is disqualified from contesting the election by virtue of 137 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, which provides as follows:
“It is not in dispute that Dr. Jonathan became the President of Nigeria in 2010 following the sudden death of President Umoru Yar’Adua. He later contested and won the 2011 presidential election. Having spent five years in office as President, Dr. Jonathan is disqualified from contesting the 2023 presidential election. The reason is that if he wins the election, he will spend an additional term of four years.
“As we all know, Jonathan left office since 2015. The oaths of office which he took were taken prior to the enactment of Section 137. In a case decided by the Court of Appeal in 2015, the court rightly held that the oath of office sworn to by Jonathan on May 6, 2010, cannot be taken into account in the interpretation of Section 137 of the Constitution. It follows, therefore, that the only oath of office sworn by Jonathan is the one he took on May 29, 2011.
Perhaps also because of his aloofness, Mr Jonathan is not influential in the politics of his home Bayelsa State. To complicate the plot, Mr Amaechi is also running for president and is said to fancy himself as the potential winner of the coveted title of President Buhari’s preferred candidate.
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