Posters with messages urging former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan to join the 2023 presidential race have flooded major streets in Abuja, the capital city.
The posters simply say, “Goodluck Jonathan: You Must Run”.
The posters are on major streets but mostly concentrated on Blantyre Street in Wuse 2 District, where the national secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is located, Leadership reports.
The posters, however, do not bear the logo or name of any political party or group.
Since there is no provision for independent candidacy in the Electoral Act 2022, the former President will have to join a political party if he chooses to contest.
His spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze, disassociated the former president from the posters but said Jonathan had been getting inquiries on whether or not he would contest the 2023 presidential election, and on what platform.
“We are not in any way associated with any campaign poster. Should His Excellency former President Goodluck Jonathan choose to contest, he is eminently qualified to do so.
“After all, in 2015, nobody advised Goodluck Jonathan before he called to concede defeat and congratulate President Muhammadu Buhari. In like manner, nobody should talk of influencing the former president to run or not to run.
“If he’s going to run or not, it’s a question of time and shall be his personal decision. It is within the rights of people to pressure him to run. But it is also within his own right to run or not. The fact remains that he is very constitutionally qualified to run,” Eze stated.
SaharaReporters on March 31 reported that Jonathan had rejected some of the conditions given to him by members of the Aso Rock (Presidency) cabal to get the 2023 presidential automatic ticket of the ruling APC.
One of the conditions was that Jonathan must officially defect to the APC with some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors in the South-South and South-East regions.
The cabal, comprising some members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s extended family and friends, are the powers behind the throne.
This group is said to have the ears of the President, influence policy-making and determine those who get major appointments.
Sources said the former President rejected the conditions and told the cabal he did not have interest in the 2023 presidency again.
His response, it was gathered, embarrassed the cabal members who described the former President as a traitor.
“They are now accusing Jonathan of not fulfilling some of his promises after all the several meetings and soft-landing given to him.
“He was to come on board by converting some PDP states in the South-South and South-East to APC, and that way he would get the automatic ticket uncontested. Some other conditions were also given to him.
“But guess what? He told them he won’t contest again. They are now angry, saying he was deceitful. They said after getting some of his seized monies back, his wife’s monies returned to him, he finally decided not to contest,” a top source had disclosed.
"Members of the ‘Aso Rock cabal’ had promised Jonathan the 2023 presidential ticket of the ruling APC", the sources said.
It was also reported that the cabal members had warned the President against handing over to the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the party.
