Former media aide to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, has raised concerns over alleged behind-the-scenes moves to bring back ex-President Goodluck Jonathan as a presidential candidate in the 2027 elections.
He described the effort as a political stunt aimed at exploiting Nigeria’s power rotation sentiment to win support in the North.
Ahmad made his views known via a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, claiming that certain unnamed political actors are lobbying Jonathan to return to the presidential race under the premise that he would serve only one term.
“From all indications, there are ongoing subtle moves by certain political elements trying to convince former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest again in 2027,” Ahmad wrote.
“They calculate that his candidacy will be easy to market in the North under the guise that he would only serve a single term.”
He criticized the alleged plot as being based on convenience rather than national interest or leadership merit.
“The troubling part is that this push is not rooted in what he would offer the North or the country at large, but merely in political convenience and power rotation. The North deserves more than being used as a political ladder,” he added.
Jonathan, who governed Nigeria from 2010 to 2015, was defeated in his re-election bid by Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
Under Nigeria’s constitutional guidelines, he remains eligible to contest for only one more term.
