Jonathan rejects 2027 presidency pressure, says ‘I won’t be used to divide south’

According to report by Daily Trust on Thursday, fresh indications have surfaced regarding renewed political pressure on former President Goodluck Jonathan to join the 2027 presidential race, despite his repeated reluctance to return to frontline politics.

Jonathan, who governed Nigeria from 2010 to 2015, made history in 2015 when he lost re-election to Muhammadu Buhari — the first time an incumbent president was defeated at the polls.

In recent weeks, sources disclosed that Jonathan’s Abuja residence has become a rallying point for political allies, stakeholders, and supporters urging him to throw his hat back into the ring. However, the former president has reportedly resisted such appeals, describing them as “self-serving” and not in the interest of national unity.

Insiders revealed that Jonathan has privately insisted he would not allow himself to be used as a tool to destabilize Southern political solidarity. He has maintained that the South should be allowed to complete its turn of eight years in power before the presidency rotates back to the North.

“Dr. Jonathan believes he has played his part, and it is time for others to do theirs,” one close associate disclosed, noting that while the former president has privately dismissed calls to run, he has deliberately avoided making a public statement on the matter.

Speculation within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) about Jonathan’s return intensified after the party zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to the South. Party strategists believe Jonathan could be a unifying candidate since, if elected, he would serve only one term, potentially smoothing internal power-sharing agreements.

Nonetheless, hints of his final position emerged earlier in May when his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, publicly ruled out his candidacy.