2027 Election: Can Jonathan Still Contest? Lawyer Gives Fact

• The threat against President Bola Tinubu's second term in office started as soon as he resumed office on May 29, 2023
• Former President Goodluck Jonathan has recently been called to join the 2027 presidential race as the opposition moves to sack Tinubu in the election
• However, there have been controversies that the former president cannot contest again because of antecedents, a position now clarified by Binzak Azeez, a legal practitioner in an exclusive interview with Legit.ng

The 2027 presidential election has become a daily headline shortly after President Bola Tinubu resumed the office of power, and the opposition has never ceased to make permutations that he will not return to office in the next cycle of elections.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has become part of the permutations following the zoning of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket to the south. Many are calling on him to join the race, particularly from the northern bloc, owing to the fact that he would not be contesting again after 2027.

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However, there are some propositions in the political milieu that the former president did not have the constitutional power to contest for the presidential election again because he had been sworn in twice: first when he completed the tenure of late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and after he won the 2011 presidential election.

Why Jonathan can contest the 2027 election

Reacting to this insinuation, Binzak Azeez, a legal practitioner, in an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, explained that the constitutional court has cleared the former president and that Jonathan has the legal right to join any presidential election, once again.

Azeez's statement reads below:

"The people who call for his re-election bid are exercising their constitutional right, and Jonathan also has the right to accept or reject the clamour. In the build-up to the 2019 presidential election, the former president Goodluck Jonathan's name resurfaced as a potential candidate to run for the presidency before the rumour was quelled by him.

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"Unlike the 2019 presidential election, when his eligibility was seriously questionable. There is no longer controversy about his eligibility. The Federal High Court has ruled that the former president is eligible to stand in a presidential election. The judgment which was delivered by Justice Isa Hamma Dashen in suit FHC/YNG/CS/86/2022 is yet to be appealed.

"The question about his eligibility, which recently resurfaced and became a centre of political discourse, is a mere fruitless debate. For now, Jonathan has the legal capacity to vie for the 2027 presidential election unless a superior court says otherwise."

No one conteststhe ruling on Jonathan

He further explained that the judgment of the Federal High Court has not been contested in any Court of Appeal in the country and noted that the period of appealing the ruling has passed. Thus, for any Court of Appeal to entertain the appeal, the reason of the appellant must be stronger.

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He explained:

"Since 2022, neither the defendants in the suit nor any Nigerian (who may as an interested party) joined the suit and appealed to set aside the judgment in favour of Jonathan's eligibility. The prescribed period to file an appeal in the nature of this case is within 3 months of the delivery of judgment. Although the court may entertain the application to file an appeal outside the 3-month time frame, the person must give good and substantial reasons for the lateness.

"Let's assume the Court of Appeal later agrees and is ready to hear the appeal in respect to the 2022 judgment. If the provisions under Section 137 sub-sections 1(b) and 3 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, as amended, are to be relied on to disqualify Jonathan's candidacy as being publicly debated, I strongly believe that such an appeal is dead on arrival.

"The interpretation of the old provisions under Section 137 (1) (b) of the 1999 constitution by Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court that Jonathan was eligible to contest the 2015 presidential election remains the valid position of the law. The new provisions under section 137 would only apply to new candidates who run for political offices after the amendment of the new section. Ex post facto or retroactive laws are not applicable in a constitutional democracy, such as Nigeria. Many of these typical laws were even set aside by the court during the military regime."

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Jonathan visits ADC national chairman

Legit.ng earlier reported that Goodluck Jonathan, the former Nigerian president, has made a surprise visit to David Mark, ADC national leader, in Abuja.

Jonathan's visit to Mark came hours after the ADC held a strategic meeting with its national leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Recall that Atiku championed the coalition movement, which eventually led to the adoption of the ADC as the opposition's party for the 2027 election.

Source: Legit.ng