2027: No automatic ticket for Jonathan – PDP group

The Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement (GHSM) has said former President Goodluck Jonathan should not expect an automatic presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The group was reacting to remarks credited to Professor Jerry Gana suggesting Jonathan’s possible comeback under the PDP platform.

In a statement on Tuesday, the GHSM National Coordinator, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, stressed that the PDP flagbearer would only emerge through an open and transparent primary process as stipulated in the Electoral Act 2022.

“With due respect, Professor Jerry Gana is entitled to his enthusiasm about the return of former President Jonathan. However, only PDP delegates to the national convention can pick the party’s flagbearer, and ultimately, God Almighty will determine the outcome, not a few party stalwarts,” Hamzat said.

He cautioned that Nigerians were yearning for progress, not a return to the past, insisting that Jonathan represented an “old order” many citizens were ready to consign to history.

Hamzat faulted Jonathan’s administration on several fronts, including alleged mismanagement of Nigeria’s diversity, rekindling of ethnic and religious divisions, and foreign policy missteps such as backing NATO’s 2011 intervention in Libya, which he described as a “strategic blunder” that destabilized the Sahel.

He also revisited the corruption allegations that trailed Jonathan’s administration, particularly the Dasukigate arms procurement scandal, stressing that the former president “still has questions to answer.”

Hamzat reaffirmed that the PDP remains a democratic platform where no aspirant, including former presidents, should expect automatic endorsement.

“If President Jonathan desires a return to Aso Rock, he must be ready to square up with nationally unifying aspirants such as Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim in an open and transparent primary,” he said.

According to him, Nigerians deserve fresh leadership and a new vision to tackle the country’s challenges, adding that “the only way forward is forward, not backward.”