2027: ‘Jonathan is legally qualified’ Ex-president’s cousin, Azibaola, tells Keyamo, Odinkalu 

Azibaola Robert, a close relative of former President Goodluck Jonathan, has stated that Jonathan is constitutionally and legally qualified to contest the 2027 Nigerian general elections. This comes amid growing calls from stakeholders who view Jonathan as a potential opposition figure capable of challenging President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the […]

Azibaola Robert, a close relative of former President Goodluck Jonathan, has stated that Jonathan is constitutionally and legally qualified to contest the 2027 Nigerian general elections.

This comes amid growing calls from stakeholders who view Jonathan as a potential opposition figure capable of challenging President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next election cycle.

Jonathan was Nigeria’s president from May 6, 2010, to May 29, 2015. He first assumed office as acting president on February 9, 2010, following the illness and eventual death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

The National Assembly later invoked the “doctrine of necessity” to formally transfer power to him. Jonathan then ran for and won the 2011 presidential election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), securing 58.89% of the vote.

His presidency lasted until May 29, 2015, when he handed over to Muhammadu Buhari after losing the 2015 election.

With Tinubu now in office, the opposition remains divided between the PDP and the Labour Party, with uncertainties surrounding the political direction of figures such as Peter Obi and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Supporters argue that Jonathan’s national appeal and experience make him one of the strongest potential candidates to unify the opposition and challenge the ruling party.

Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), recently advised the PDP not to nominate Jonathan, while Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a human rights lawyer, suggested that Jonathan may not be constitutionally eligible to contest again.

Responding, Robert Azibaola maintained that Jonathan remains qualified under the law to run for office.

He wrote on his Facebook page:

“Dear Festus Keyamo, SAN, Chidi Odinkalu (Prof.), I greet both of you. For the record, we are three lawyers.”

“We all were pro-democracy activists in the 90s. RULE NO. 1: Do not offer legal advice where none is solicited. Goodluck Jonathan has numerous, more experienced SANs at his disposal who give him sound, professional legal advice only.”

“GEJ is 100% constitutionally and legally qualified to contest if he chooses to. If he chooses not to yield to his overwhelming calls to contest, it would not be because he is not qualified.”

“Should you wish, we may meet to properly review the subsisting court judgments on this matter, one of which your party, APC, was a party.”

Azibaola added a clarification: “This is not a confirmation that GEJ is running, though.”