Wike Speaks on Jonathan's 2027 Presidential Ambition, Washes Hands Off PDP Chairmanship Saga
- Nyesom Wike says former President Goodluck Jonathan has never discussed any plan to contest the 2027 presidential election with him
- The FCT Minister distances himself from claims linking him to the PDP leadership tussle and says he knows nothing about Kabiru Turaki’s emergence
- Wike describes the upcoming PDP national convention as illegal and says he will not attend the event slated for November in Ibadan
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has not informed anyone of his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election, according to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Wike, who spoke during a media session with journalists in Abuja on Friday, dismissed growing speculation that Jonathan was being pressured to return to the presidential race.
Source: Twitter
He said the former president had neither discussed such ambition with him nor sought his opinion on the matter, Vanguard reported.
Jonathan has not discussed 2027 race
Wike said he has not been personally informed by former President Jonathan that he is considering running for a second tenure in 2027.
“You’re the one telling me here. Jonathan has never told me; he has never called me one day that, look, I’m being pressured to run, what’s your thinking? If he calls me and asks me, I will be able to tell him my mind and what I feel,” Wike said.
He expressed displeasure over unverified reports suggesting that he was aware of Jonathan’s alleged plans or that he was involved in political arrangements surrounding the 2027 elections.
“I will not because you people put something on the pages of the newspapers—just like you said they flew me out of the country—then, I now assume it’s correct,” he added.
Wike distances self from PDP leadership deal
When asked about the emergence of former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), as the consensus candidate for the position of National Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Wike said he was not part of the process.
Source: Twitter
“I don’t know about Tanimu Turaki becoming chairman; maybe he becomes chairman for another faction—it’s not the PDP I know,” he stated.
Northern PDP stakeholders had reportedly endorsed Turaki as their preferred choice ahead of the party’s national convention, scheduled to hold on November 15 and 16 in Ibadan, Oyo state.
Wike, however, questioned the legitimacy of the exercise, describing the planned convention as unlawful and declaring that he would not participate in it.
“How do you want me to attend a convention that I know by law that there is no convention?” he asked.
Meanwhile, reports have surfaced that Jonathan is facing growing pressure from influential figures in the Niger Delta to drop any presidential ambition and instead support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The group allegedly includes former militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, and some of Jonathan’s kinsmen who believe that backing Tinubu would better serve regional and political interests.
Former president Jonathan told to step aside
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the national coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Dr Yunusa Tanko, had called on former president Goodluck Jonathan to throw his weight behind Peter Obi’s presidential ambition ahead of the 2027 general election.
Speaking on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, Tanko said Jonathan owed Obi political support, recalling that the former Anambra State governor was the only state leader who stood firmly with him during moves to remove him from office.
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Source: Legit.ng
