Former President Goodluck Jonathan will only participate in the All Progressive Congress presidential election on condition that he is supported by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Anything other than this will not be acceptable to Jonathan, who served as deputy governor, governor, vice president and president on the platform of People’s Democratic Party In 1999 and 2015.
In February it was reported that several Northern Emirs had contacted the former president and asked him to participate.
Jonathan also stayed away from PDP activities, including the last national convention.
Former governor of Jigawa state, Sule Lamido also briefly stated that Jonathan was unlikely to be a member of the PDP because he was no longer active in party activities.
Meanwhile on Thursday, several posters of the former president flooded the APC National Secretariat on Blantyre Street, Wuse 2.
On Friday, youth and women groups demonstrated in front of Jonathan’s office in the Maitama area in Abuja.
The demonstrators who came in with five large buses went up and some of them read: “Jonathan, please run”, “Jonathan, do what is necessary”, “Jonathan for 2023′, ‘Jonathan now says ‘and’ Goodluck Please come back, we love you’.
Mayor Samuel, a demonstrator and also the Convener of the Youth Compatriots of Nigeria, said: “We were deceived and brainwashed by those who claimed they could do it in 2015.
“Now, we know better, under Jonathan the minimum wage could buy one or two bags of rice. What do we have today? We are begging President Jonathan to forgive us, we have realised our mistakes; we want him back to complete what he started.”
Jonathan then invited the leaders of the demonstrator to a private meeting. After a brief meeting, the former president spoke to the demonstrators outside and advised the youth to run instead, adding that the constitution has been changed since 2018, to give young people the opportunity to fight.
The former President said was not sure if he would run for Presidency again but He, however, asked them to ‘watch out’.
“Yes you are calling me to come and declare for the next election, I cannot tell if I’m declaring. The political process is ongoing just watch out. The key role you must play is that Nigeria must get somebody that will carry young people along,”.
Newsglobal gathered from a source in APC that the former President was seeking an assurance that he would receive the party’s Presidential ticket. He said,“Jonathan has already been President before. So, the APC cannot offer him anything except the Presidential ticket.
Imagine him contesting against Osinbajo and Tinubu and losing? Wouldn’t that be disgraceful?
“So, he has made his position clear. If he is to come to the APC, he must be given the assurance that he will be given the party’s ticket. That is his demand.”
“Jonathan is the only Nigerian alive that can promise to serve only one Presidential term and abide by it because he is limited by the constitution. If he serves one term, then power returns to the North. It is also not an easy decision but I can assure you that President Buhari will have no qualms with a Jonathan Presidency,” he added.
He also claimed that Jonathan may be sold as a “compromise candidate” amid the raging zoning debate in the country.
SKJ