The Presidency has declared that former President Goodluck Jonathan is free to contest the 2027 presidential election but maintained that Nigerians will judge him by what it called his “dismal” record in office compared to the “giant strides” of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a statement issued yesterday by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said early campaign activities are being fuelled by opposition elements desperate to unseat the incumbent.
The statement particularly took aim at former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, who is reportedly working to draft Jonathan into the race under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It dismissed the PDP as “discredited” and accused it of leaving behind “a legacy of economic ruins after 16 years of bad governance.”
Meanwhile, the PDP has said Jonathan is not its automatic candidate, describing him as just one of several options on the party’s radar.
According to Onanuga, while Jonathan has the inalienable right to seek office, “any such bid would face judicial scrutiny,” given that he has been sworn in twice as president.
The Presidency warned the former president to be cautious of “PDP sugar-coated cheerleaders” who, it alleged, abandoned him in 2015 and could do so again.
Recounting Jonathan’s tenure, the Presidency accused his administration of reckless spending, depletion of reserves, and mismanagement of oil revenues despite high crude prices. It claimed that by 2015, Nigeria’s foreign reserves had dropped below $30 billion, the Excess Crude Account had been reduced to $2 billion, and federal and state governments struggled to pay salaries.
By contrast, the statement highlighted Tinubu’s “bold reforms” such as the removal of fuel subsidy and unification of exchange rates, which it said have restored investor confidence. It cited Q2 2025 GDP growth of 4.23%, inflation at a three-year low of 20.12% in August, foreign reserves at $42.03 billion, and a stabilised naira as proof of progress.
“President Jonathan and others are welcome to the 2027 race,” the statement concluded. “But Nigerians who remember the past will not allow those who once broke the economy to return and run it down again.”
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