The Presidency has reacted to reports that former President Goodluck Jonathan may join the 2027 presidential race, saying while he is free to contest, Nigerians will not forget his “dismal record in office.”
In a statement issued on Monday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, dismissed comments credited to Professor Jerry Gana, who reportedly declared that Jonathan would contest the 2027 election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Onanuga described Gana’s position as “absurd,” warning Jonathan to be wary of politicians seeking to lure him into the race for their personal, political, and ethnic interests. He recalled that similar political allies abandoned the former president in 2015.
“President Jonathan reserves the right to run if he wishes. It is his inalienable right to contest the presidency again. President Tinubu will wholeheartedly welcome him if he decides to enter the race. But Jonathan will have his date in court to determine whether he is constitutionally qualified, having already been sworn in twice as president,” the statement read in part.
The Presidency further argued that Jonathan’s six years in office left the country’s economy in ruins, citing the depletion of foreign reserves from $46 billion in 2010 to less than $30 billion in 2015, and the sharp decline of the Excess Crude Account from $20 billion to $2 billion despite record oil revenues. It also noted that several states and the federal government struggled to pay salaries before the 2015 elections.
By contrast, Onanuga said President Bola Tinubu’s administration has implemented bold reforms in its 28 months in office, including the removal of fuel subsidy and unification of exchange rates, which he claimed have restored investor confidence and stabilised the naira.
He highlighted second-quarter GDP growth of 4.23% in 2025, a decline in inflation to 20.12% in August—the lowest in three years—and foreign reserves of $42.03 billion as evidence of the government’s economic progress.
“The nation has turned the corner,” the statement stressed, listing ongoing infrastructure projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Highway as further proof of Tinubu’s performance.
Onanuga concluded that while Jonathan and the PDP are free to enter the 2027 contest, Nigerians will not allow them to “return and run the economy down again.”
