Former President Goodluck Jonathan is playing hide-and-seek with 2027 or what my friend, Kingdom Chieche Nwafor has described as the politics of proxy candidacy drama, which invites watching as it unfolds.
For days, promoters of the so-called “Jiji PDP” flooded social media claiming Jonathan had picked their nomination form, would submit it in person, and appear for screening. The noise built up, but nothing happened. No form surfaced. No Jonathan showed up.
Then came a twist. A Makinde-backed PDP faction announced Jonathan as its sole presidential candidate for 2027. Committee member Babangida Aliyu said Jonathan had been granted a waiver from screening due to his past experience as deputy governor, governor, vice president, and president. “He has been declared and cleared as the candidate,” Aliyu stated.
The announcement left questions. Governor Seyi Makinde himself had declared interest on the same platform, reportedly under a PDP-APM alliance. Yet the faction is now silent on him while pushing Jonathan as the sole candidate.
The timing looks deliberate. Jonathan’s eligibility is before the courts, with judgment set for May 26, 2026, just before the May 30 deadline for party primaries. Waiting allows him to align with the court ruling without missing the window.
But the bigger question remains: what does Jonathan really want? PDP is at its weakest, and Peter Obi holds the momentum as the opposition’s new face. Yet a three-way southern contest namely: BAT, Obi, and Jonathan, risks splitting the zone’s goodwill and undermining the argument for the South to complete two terms in the interest of fairness, equity, and national balance.
For now, Jonathan’s game is clear on tactics but murky on motive.
Bagudu Mohammed
bagudumohammed15197@gmail.com
