…Ruling Comes Days after Jonathan emerged as sole presidential candidate of Turaki Faction
By Yinka Giwa
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday cleared former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidential election, days after he was adopted as the sole presidential candidate of the Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The court ruling came amid apparently irreconcilable divisions within the opposition party, as a rival PDP faction aligned with FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, announced Senator Sandy Onor as its own consensus presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court dismissed a suit filed by Johnmary Jideobi seeking to stop Jonathan from contesting the presidency on the grounds that he had previously taken the presidential oath twice.
Delivering judgment, the court upheld the preliminary objection raised by Jonathan’s counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), who argued that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to institute the suit and that the issue had already been settled in earlier judicial pronouncements.
The court agreed that the suit amounted to an abuse of court process, noting that competent courts had previously ruled on similar questions surrounding Jonathan’s eligibility.
The ruling is expected to strengthen Jonathan’s political position after the Turaki faction of the PDP last week endorsed him as its sole presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Reacting to the judgement, Hon. Fred Agbedi of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation described the decision as a major legal victory that removed all constitutional impediments to Jonathan’s possible return to power.
Agbedi said the judgement, alongside earlier court decisions, had effectively cleared the path for Jonathan to pursue his political ambitions despite the lingering crisis within the PDP.
He called on Nigerians to support what he described as Jonathan’s “rescue mission,” warning that the country “must not be allowed to drift like a rudderless ship on the high seas.”
Meanwhile, the rival PDP faction led by Abdulrahman Mohammed and backed by Wike formally unveiled Onor as its consensus presidential candidate during a factional primary exercise held at the party’s Wadata Plaza national secretariat in Abuja.
Former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, who chaired the PDP Presidential Primaries Collation Committee, said consultations and voice votes were conducted among party members across the states before Onor emerged as the sole consensus aspirant.
According to Ortom, the committee consulted stakeholders across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory before arriving at the decision.
Onor, a former Cross River State governorship candidate, had earlier declared his intention to run for president and purchased his expression of interest and nomination forms earlier this month.
Following the announcement, the factional party leadership led by National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu presented Onor with a certificate of return and the party’s flag as a presidential candidate.
Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, including National Commissioners Abdullahi Zuru and Prof. Rhoda Habor Gumus, monitored the exercise.