The Presidency has fired back at former President Goodluck Jonathan over rumours that he may contest the 2027 presidential election, saying it is up to the courts to decide if he is legally qualified to run.
This comes after a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Professor Jerry Gana, publicly declared that Jonathan would contest in 2027 on the PDP platform.
Reacting through Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, the Presidency warned that Jonathan’s return to politics could be a repeat of what it described as a failed era that brought Nigeria’s economy to its knees.
In a strongly worded statement, Onanuga said, “President Jonathan reserves the right to run if he wishes. It is his inalienable right. President Tinubu will welcome him into the race. But the courts will decide if someone who has been sworn in twice as president is allowed to run again.”
Jonathan became president in 2010 following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and was elected for a full term in 2011. He was defeated in 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari. The question now being raised is whether his two terms—although one was partial—disqualify him constitutionally from running again.
The Presidency did not stop at legal matters. Onanuga launched a strong attack on Jonathan’s economic legacy, blaming his administration for pushing Nigeria into economic hardship.
He claimed that under Jonathan’s watch, the economy was poorly managed, foreign reserves were depleted, and public funds meant for national security were misused.
“In 2010, Jonathan inherited a total of $66 billion—$46 billion in foreign reserves and $20 billion in the Excess Crude Account,” Onanuga stated. “By 2015, reserves had dropped below $30 billion, and the Excess Crude Account was down to just $2 billion, despite record-high crude oil prices.”
He also alleged that fuel subsidy fraud and mismanagement of foreign exchange plagued the Jonathan administration. “Under him, many businessmen got foreign exchange to import fuel but never brought anything in. Some of them are still in court over the fraud today.”
According to Onanuga, the government of Jonathan failed to pay salaries by late 2014, and at least 28 states were owing workers. He argued that all these contributed to Nigeria’s economic collapse, which the current administration is now trying to fix.
In contrast, the Tinubu administration praised its own achievements, saying the president has taken bold steps to restore the economy.
The statement listed the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the exchange rate as major reforms that have helped stabilise the economy. “In 2025 Q2, the GDP grew by 4.23%, the highest in four years. Inflation has dropped to 20.12%, the lowest in three years,” it said.
It also claimed that foreign reserves now stand at $42.03 billion and that investor confidence has returned.
“Road projects like the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Highway are ongoing. Security is being improved in affected areas. Our people have started reaping the gains of these reforms,” Onanuga said.
The Presidency accused PDP chieftains like Jerry Gana of trying to use Jonathan for their own political gain and warned that history could repeat itself if he returns to power.
“People like Jerry Gana are only using Jonathan for their selfish political and ethnic interests. They abandoned him in 2015, and they will do so again,” the statement warned.
“They broke the economy before. Nigerians who remember what happened will not allow them to return and ruin it again.”
Onanuga described Gana’s confidence that Jonathan could defeat Tinubu in 2027 as “absurd” and “a political comedy.”
The Nigerian Constitution, under Section 137(1)(b), states that a person who has been elected to the office of President twice is not eligible to contest again. However, legal experts have debated whether Jonathan’s case—being elected only once—qualifies as a constitutional loophole.
Jonathan’s camp has not yet issued a formal statement confirming or denying his intention to contest, but this latest clash sets the stage for a heated political and legal debate in the lead-up to 2027.
