PDP Denies Wooing Goodluck Jonathan For 2027 Presidential Race

 

Amid reports suggesting that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has invited former President Goodluck Jonathan to join the 2027 presidential race on its platform, the party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, has publicly denied these claims in an interview with BBC Hausa.

Abdullahi stated that the PDP did not issue its presidential ticket to Jonathan nor invite him to contest the upcoming election

He said, “The report that PDP has issued its presidential ticket to former President Goodluck Jonathan or invited him to contest the 2027 presidential election is not true.

 

“What happened is this: I had an interview with a journalist where we discussed some issues. But in the course of the interview, he mentioned President Jonathan, asking about our opinion of him, because there are reports that he is being urged to run for the presidency.

“I responded by saying that he (Jonathan) is eligible to contest the election, because he is a Nigerian and has the right to do that by the provision of the law, and he still has one more term left. So, there is nothing wrong about him contesting the presidential election because he is eligible in the face of the law.”

Abdullahi went on to explain that the PDP has already done enough for Jonathan, as a member of their party, and saw no need to “woo” him further. He emphasized that the party has numerous eligible and competent candidates, including 12 governors, who could potentially run in the 2027 presidential election.

While the PDP has denied inviting Jonathan to contest the election on its platform, some reports have suggested that the party is open to his potential candidacy

“It wasn’t long ago that his wife said nothing would make her husband run for the presidency, that he didn’t leave behind or forget anything in the Villa for people to think that he’d come back to contest the position again. How then can we consider him. Ticket is given to someone who has shown interest.”