“GEJ Is 100% Legally Qualified”: Jonathan’s Cousin Replies Keyamo, Odinkalu over 2027 Presidency
- Azibaola Robert replied the minister of aviation, Festus Keyamo, after he said the PDP risks serious setbacks if it opts for former president Goodluck Jonathan in 2027
- Jonathan's cousin criticised Keyamo and Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a prominent human rights lawyer, for suggesting that the former president is constitutionally ineligible to run
- Azibaola Robert, in a post shared on his Facebook page on Monday, explained why Jonathan is eligible to run for president in 2027
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Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
Azibaola Robert, who is a close relative of Goodluck Jonathan, has stated that the former president is constitutionally and legally qualified to contest the 2027 Nigerian general elections.
Source: Getty Images
2027: Keyamo Urges PDP Not to Field Jonathan
Legit.ng reports that Jonathan was Nigeria’s president between 2010 and 2015, taking over from former president Musa Yar’Adua, after the latter’s death in 2010. He contested for the presidency in 2011 but lost to Muhammadu Buhari (of blessed memory) in the 2015 election.
But 10 years after he left office, calls for GEJ, as Jonathan is fondly addressed, to contest the 2027 presidential election have continued to grow with certain chieftains of the main opposition PDP wooing him to team up with the party.
With President Bola Tinubu now in office, Nigeria’s opposition remains divided between the PDP and the Labour Party, with uncertainties surrounding the political platforms of key figures like Peter Obi and former vice president Atiku Abubakar.
However, Festus Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Minister of Aviation, urged the PDP not to nominate Jonathan, while Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a prominent human rights lawyer, suggested that the former president is constitutionally ineligible to run.
Source: Facebook
Jonathan eligible to contest - Azibaola
Reacting, Robert Azibaola, who is a cousin of the former president, maintained that Jonathan is constitutionally qualified to contest the next elections if he chooses to.
He emphasised that if Jonathan chooses not to yield to the overwhelming calls to contest, it would not be because he is not qualified.
He reminded both Keyamo and Odinkalu that he is also a lawyer who was also a prodemocracy activist in the 1990s, adding that, although his comment does not confirm Jonathan's candidacy.
Azibaola wrote on his Facebook page:
"Dear Festus Keyamo, SAN, Chidi Odinkalu(Prof.), I greet both of you. For the record, we are three lawyers.
"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.
"Your screwed, unsolicited legal view is not of any concern in his bucket list, and it will never be. Don't waste your precious times further dwelling on this.
"Or should you schedule a meeting with me so you can get properly educated on the subsisting court judgements on this, one of which your party, APC, was a party?
"This is not a confirmation that GEJ is running, though."
Read more about Jonathan here:
- Jonathan’s 2027 challenge: APC shares how Tinubu remains unbeatable
- “Jonathan under pressure to join 2027 race,” Analyst reveals, shares details
Jonathan's wife advises against 2027 comeback
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that former First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan advised her husband, Goodluck Jonathan, against contesting the 2027 presidential election under any platform.
Legit.ng reported that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had been trying to get Jonathan to run for the 2027 election against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
