Politics
Fresh Moves To Drag Jonathan Into 2027 Presidential Race Revealed
Fresh attempts have been launched by a coalition of forces across the country to drag former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan to run in 2027.
This is coming amid the frenzied efforts by various power blocs to reposition their camps in good stead ahead of the general election.
The mobilization drive, which is in an embryonic stage, is principally under the aegis of Jonathan Support Group.
The rising wave of realignment by politicians and groups took a dizzying height following last Wednesday adoption of the African Democratic congress (ADC) by some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a preferred choice to field candidates for the next general election.
Jonathan lost his second-term bid to former President Buhari in the 2015 presidential election.
Amidst the debate on whether Jonathan was eligible to run again or not, having taken the oath of office twice as president, the Federal High Court in Bayelsa had ruled in 2022 that he could still contest the presidential election.
The presiding judge, Justice Dashen, who gave the judgement, held that the former President’s right could not be stopped by any retroactive law.
He recalled that the 2007 election produced the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as president and not Goodluck Ebele Jonathan; stressing that Section 137 could not have a retroactive effect to stop him from contesting for presidency.
Justice Dashen ruled that there was no presidential election conducted in the country in 2010 and that Goodluck Ebele Jonathan could not be deemed to have been sworn into the office of the president that year.
The belief by the pro-Jonathan movement is that the former president, who conceded defeat to former President Muhammadu Buhari 10 years ago, still has the pedigree and goodwill among the political elite and grassroots, who they noted placed premium on national stability while in office.
Many other pressure groups are also said to be involved in intense meetings and consultations, as well as awareness tours to feel public in all the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Top on their lobbying strategy is what they described as Jonathan’s record as a unifier and a “leader who sacrificed personal ambition to protect Nigeria’s democracy.”
The director general of the group, Mr Abdullahi Dambatta, who shed light on the campaign in spite of the fact that the general election is about two years ahead expressed the hope that the former president would hearken to the call for him to run again.
He said: “We urge former President Goodluck Jonathan to consider the clarion call by Nigerians and step forward as a candidate who can unite our country and lead us towards a brighter future.
“As the nation prepares for the 2027 elections, the Jonathan Support Group believes that now is the time for all stakeholders to come together and support a candidate who can genuinely represent the interests of all Nigerians
“We urge former President Goodluck Jonathan to consider this call and to step forward as a candidate who can unite our country and lead us towards a brighter future.
“This appeal comes in light of the numerous challenges currently facing Nigeria, including economic hardship, insecurity, unemployment, and rampant banditry.”
Dambatta said there is an urgent need for a leader who embodies integrity, inclusivity, and a commitment to national unity. Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it.
“Nigeria is currently at crossroads. We are grappling with significant issues that threaten our stability and progress. We need a leader who can bring all Nigerians together, regardless of their background.
“Former President Jonathan during his tenure demonstrated a commitment to democratic values and governance that prioritised the welfare of all citizens.
“Jonathan Support Group believes that former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has the vision and experience necessary to lead Nigeria.
“His leadership style is one that fosters inclusivity and economic advancement, which is exactly what our nation needs at this critical juncture.
“Under Jonathan’s leadership, we can work towards restoring Nigeria’s lost glory on the international stage and within our own borders,” he stated.
Other figures reportedly active in the coalition of support groups include some former Northern governors who had previously supported him in 2011, a handful of serving National Assembly members, and youth activists who argue that a return to Jonathan could stabilise national politics at a time of deepening economic hardship and rising insecurity.
Supporters of the movement argue that the former president’s return could help “heal the nation’s divisions,” pointing to increasing ethnic and religious polarization, economic hardship, and widespread disillusionment with the current political class.
“There is also a pragmatic angle: some Northern politicians reportedly see Jonathan as a bridge figure that, having served only one full term, remains eligible for a single term in office. This, in theory, would create space for a North-South power rotation in 2031 without a prolonged stay in power by the South,” a political analyst, Alhaji Aliyu Dandume stated.
The move could reshape existing alignments. Jonathan is formally a member of the PDP, but there have been persistent rumours about a new coalition party.
“Our expectation is that the Coalition adopts Jonathan as its candidate. He stands a better chance to defeat the incumbent President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the polls than any of the aspirants due to his acceptability by Nigerians irrespective of region, tribe or religion”, another analyst, Mahmood Shema, said.
He explained that for Northern politicians hoping to preserve the long-standing informal zoning arrangement—where power rotates between North and South—this scenario could be appealing: Jonathan’s presidency would, by definition, end in 2031, allowing the North to legitimately reclaim the slot thereafter.
Supporters also underscored Jonathan’s perceived inclusive governance style, relative peace during much of his tenure (excluding the Boko Haram insurgency’s peak years), and his statesmanlike decision to accept defeat in 2015, which many credit with preventing large-scale post-election violence.
While Jonathan himself remains silent, the Northern Youth Alliance for Jonathan has launched a series of town hall meetings in states such as Kano, Kaduna, and Katsina, aimed at selling the idea to the next generation of voters.
Similarly, the Jonathan Solidarity Forum is also believed to have been involved in engagement with some southern political actors to reassure them that the push is not an attempt by the North to dominate but rather a pragmatic move to restore political equilibrium.
A former House of Representatives aspirant under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Danjuma, has joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Danjuma, popularly known as Garkuwa Babba, was the ADC aspirant for the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency and also served as National Chairman of the ADC House of Representatives Aspirants Forum.
He announced his defection after meeting with Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, at the Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, Naija News understands.
During the meeting, Danjuma declared his support for the APC and pledged to mobilize his political network and grassroots supporters for the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said he would support Governor Yahaya’s senatorial ambition, the APC governorship candidate in the state, Dr Jamilu Isiyaku Gwamna, and other candidates of the party.
Danjuma said his decision to leave the ADC was largely influenced by Yahaya’s leadership, performance and development record in Gombe State.
He praised the governor for what he described as tangible development across the state, saying his achievements had boosted confidence in the APC and reduced the appeal of opposition parties among voters.
According to him, joining the APC was a deliberate move to support continuity, stability and further development in Gombe State.
Receiving Danjuma, Governor Yahaya welcomed his decision to join the APC, describing the development as a major boost for the party.
The governor assured the new APC member and his supporters of an inclusive and united party, stressing the importance of unity, loyalty and collective effort.
Yahaya said the APC remained open to individuals and groups who shared the vision of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Gombe State.
He added that Danjuma’s political experience, network and grassroots reach would be valuable to the party.
The governor also urged APC members and stakeholders to remain united, saying the strength of the party depended on its ability to accommodate different interests while working towards the development of Gombe State.
“These men and women will carry the ADC banner and our commitment to offer Nigerians credible leadership and a real alternative,” the party said.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has released the names of its governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the 2027 elections in 28 states
The list, signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, includes several prominent politicians and former public officials seeking to contest the poll.
“These men and women will carry the ADC banner and our commitment to offer Nigerians credible leadership and a real alternative,” Mr Abdullahi wrote in a post on X on Friday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the governorship elections for 6 February, 2027. It will hold alongside the state House of Assembly elections.
The remaining eight states hold their governorship elections outside of the regular election season as a result of previous court decisions. The eight states are Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun.
The presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on 16 January, 2027.
ADC governorship candidates
The candidates and their running mates are Kalu Agu and Alozie Darlington (Abia); Modibbo Ribadu and Aguwa Iliya (Adamawa); and Akpanudedehe James and Nsien Tommy (Akwa Ibom); Halliru Jika and Sama’ila Mohammed Kabir (Bauchi); Herman Iorwase Hembe and Abba John Abba (Benue); Babagana Buhari and Mamman Dauda (Borno); Nkoyo Toyo and OkwoChe Andrew Adagbor (Cross River; and Great Ogboru and Afiari Gloria (Delta).
Others are Ukpai Mba Udeh and Onwe Daniel Ede (Ebonyi); Ocho Obodeze Chukwuma and Eze Arinze Christopher (Enugu); Bala Bello and Bala Sani Isa (Gombe); Sabo Mohammed Nakudu and Musa Ya’u Balarabe (Bauchi); and Isa Mohammed Ashiru and Kantiok Irmiya Ishaku (Kaduna).
There are also Ibrahim Ali Amin and Shehu Abdulkadir Bari (Kano); Ahmad Baba Kaita and Aminu Yar’Adua Ahmed (Katsina), Abubakar Malami and Zagi Musa Mohammed (Kebbi); Zakari Mohammed and Olawuyi Julius Olayide (Kwara); Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and Gbadamosi Babatunde Olalere (Lagos).
The list also includes Nuhu Angbazo and Ahmed Yusuf (Nasarawa); Mohammed Kpautagi and Musa Mamman (Niger); Biodun Collins Ogundipe and Muraina Oluwaranti Oluyemi (Ogun); Taofeek Adegboyega Adegoke and Wahab Adeniyi (Oyo); and John Sunday Sura and Pwajok-Kele Chundung Bitrus (Plateau).
The remaining candidates are Gabriel Pidomson and Okumgba David Amapakaye (Rivers); Manir Mohammad Daniya and Isah Bello Ambarura (Sokoto); Abubakar Umar Tutare and Kwetishe Haruna Kwenyan (Taraba); Kassim G. Gaidam and Kori Lawan Mohammed (Yobe); and Shinkafi Bilyaminu Yusuf and Muhammad Abdulmuddalib Auwal (Zamfara).
ADC performance in off-cycle elections
Since the ADC was adopted as the platform for the opposition coalition in 2025, it has struggled to make a significant impact in the three off-cycle elections held in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun off-cycle governorship elections.
In the 2025 Anambra governorship election, APGA’s Chukwuma Soludo was re-elected with 422,664 votes, defeating APC’s Nicholas Ukachukwu, who polled 99,445 votes. John Nwosu, the ADC candidate, finished fifth with 8,208 votes, representing about 1.4 per cent of the 584,054 valid votes cast.
In the 2026 Ekiti governorship election, the ADC candidate, Dare Bejide, finished third with 12,872 votes, accounting for about 3.4 per cent of the 375,777 valid votes cast.
In last month’s Osun governorship election, the ADC candidate, Najeem Salaam, came third with 1.7 per cent (17,180) of the 985,079 valid votes cast.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the exit of global ride-hailing brand Uber from Nigeria, alongside the shutdown or scaling down of operations by several major international companies, as further evidence that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies are turning Nigeria into a “graveyard of businesses.”
Naija News reports that global ride-hailing company, Uber, had announced the shutdown of its operations in Nigeria, bringing an end to a 12-year presence in the country.
The company said its services would cease in Nigeria from September 2, 2026, following a review of its business operations
Uber disclosed the decision in a statement issued on Wednesday, describing its departure from the Nigerian market as a difficult one.
Reacting in a statement on Thursday, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the growing list of businesses shutting down, scaling back or leaving the country exposes the widening gap between the government’s claims of economic progress and the reality confronting businesses and ordinary Nigerians.
The party said it was particularly astonishing that President Tinubu and his government were celebrating a marginal 0.2 percentage-point improvement in GDP at a time when businesses are closing, jobs are disappearing and millions of Nigerians are sinking deeper into poverty.
“Certainly, a 0.2% growth does not justify the extreme hardship that Nigerians are suffering,” the party said.
He argued that while the Tinubu government celebrates a marginal improvement of 0.2 percentage points, Nigeria’s poverty rate has snowballed to 63%, affecting an estimated 140 million Nigerians.
The ADC also asked President Tinubu to explain 0.2% GDP growth to the 140 million Nigerians who have sunk into poverty since he came to power; the workers who have watched the value of their salaries disappear; businesses that have struggled with energy costs; and millions who have been forced to reduce the quantity and quality of food on their tables.
“When the President and his party say things are getting better, we expect them to tell us what has improved in the lives of Nigerians. They should tell us how much food their “GDP growth” has put on the tables. They should tell us which bill it has paid. If 0.2% is a mark of success in their books, President Tinubu and APC should tell us what they consider as failure,” the ADC said.
The party said that Uber’s exit after twelve years in Nigeria reflects the increasingly hostile operating environment confronting businesses, particularly the soaring cost of energy and transportation, with the price of fuel rising by as much as 1,700% following the removal of fuel subsidy and devaluation of the naira.
“This is precisely why the ADC Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has proposed the restoration of a targeted fuel subsidy to bring down the cost of fuel, transportation and production,” the party said.
It also cited the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria’s earlier report that 767 manufacturing companies, including 20 iconic global brands, have shut down or ceased operations in Nigeria, while hundreds more are distressed since President Tinubu assumed office in 2024. It listed among the companies that have shut down or scaled down operations in the country to include Microsoft, Jumia and Bolt Food, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi-Aventis, Bayer AG, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and PZ Cussons, among others.
“Therefore, when the President announces that Nigeria has turned the corner, we wonder which corner he is talking about. If indeed the economy is improving, or the slightest hope exists in the minds of those who run these businesses that this APC government can improve the economy, why are they closing shop and moving elsewhere?” ADC asked, citing the example of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which it said shut down manufacturing in Nigeria after 50 years.
“The painful truth is that Tinubu has turned Nigeria into a graveyard of businesses. Every business that shuts down or pulls out is a vote of no confidence in the Tinubu administration and its capacity to manage the economy. Each exit delivers a blow to the economy. But perhaps, more importantly, each one represents a massive loss of jobs and increased poverty.
“Therefore, when the APC and its government celebrate even the most negligible shift in GDP numbers and flaunt that as evidence to show that things are getting better, they are immediately contradicted by the painful reality that Nigerians are getting poorer and hungrier. Those who had jobs yesterday are not sure how long it will take before their employers close shop, and those earning salaries are struggling even to transport themselves to work,” the party concludes.
ADC reiterated that its presidential candidate’s plan to subsidise the production costs of fuel to make it more affordable will bring down the cost of living, make businesses more profitable, and create jobs across sectors.
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